Podcasts have existed for more than 10 years but have recently seen a surge of interest, spurred by the success of the true crime drama Serial, which has been downloaded more than 70m times. What is driving the so-called “podcast renaissance”? How are they different from radio shows? And do they pose a threat to traditional broadcasting? FT technology editor Ravi Mattu is joined by literature professor Sarah Churchwell, veteran podcaster Helen Zaltzman and Mark Friend, who is responsible for BBC Radio online. Produced by Griselda Murray Brown and Lily Le Brun  

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Ben Lerner is one of the most highly praised and unconventional writers of his generation. The 37-year-old recently met John Sunyer, a commissioning editor on FT Weekend, to talk about why he's 'doomed to write more novels'. Here, he reads one of his favourite poems.  

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Social distancing curbs mean August vote cannot be held, says electoral commission

Instructing people to stay at home is to confine millions to cramped housing

Tidjane Thiam lends voice to call for private sector to join debt moratorium 

Harry Potter will turn 40 in the year 2020, but has he been a wizard with his finances? Presenter James Pickford speculates on his fictional fortune with Moira O’Neill, head of personal finance at Interactive investor - plus we look at the financial impact of a Dry January, and where to find the best deals on gym membership.

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Reduction is second in under a month as country braces for an extended coronavirus lockdown

Leaders acted swiftly as they watched richer countries’ health systems crumple

Secret burials, overflowing hospitals and dead MPs, as president takes refuge in home village

Other people’s working lives are endlessly interesting — always something to learn

Everything from what you wear to your posture plays a role in how impressions are formed

One says employees want to be untethered while the other believes they dream of buying a home

Commerce department investigation could lead to new tariffs on transformer parts

Data give snapshot of shifting battlegrounds ahead of November’s presidential election

FT-Peterson survey finds 71% back states as support slips for president’s economic stewardship

Tax bills can be reduced by handing back a vehicle to an employer

IR35 rules demanding companies check their contractors’ HMRC status are flawed and unfair, say Lords

The investigative journalist on #MeToo and the perils of taking on the powerful

The Polish novelist on confronting history and her battles with the nationalist right

The ‘Mick Jagger of microbes’ on a life of fighting disease — and the severity of the current crisis

The Lancet editor on Britain’s response to coronavirus — and being labelled a pariah

Discovery raises prospect of industry’s return 20 years after Cornwall’s last pit closed

Prime minister escalates dispute over Canada-listed group’s licence

Boxer’s ideas don’t have to make sense — he just has to hit people

Mourinho in Norfolk, Tyson v Fury, and mandatory drug-taking at the Olympics

Matthew Engel tours Middle England in search of the root of voter disillusionment

National identity matters less in an age of globalised sport

An occupied home has utility no empty shop can match

Office group founder files lawsuit over largest investor’s decision to pull out of $3bn tender offer

Maduro regime rejects latest Washington plan despite fears of humanitarian catastrophe from Covid-19

Flashpoint between Brazil’s populist leader and political establishment over response to virus

Region’s ‘Pink tide’ leaders see chance of revival as inequality and public health concerns take centre stage

Tensions escalate between president and the speaker of Congress’s lower house over response to coronavirus 

David Enrich’s salutary tale of Deutsche Bank’s overreaching ambitions

Live coverage from the FT.

Live coverage of UK election campaign.

The pound has soared more than 2 per cent in its biggest rise since 2017 after an exit poll has projected a strong victory for Boris Johnson’s Conservative party.

More than 20m lose their jobs in April as lockdowns choke world’s largest economy

Big investors must adopt a tougher stance on balance sheet resilience

With its candidate favourite to win, Law and Justice party was insisting poll should go ahead on May 10

Georgian once mooted as next deputy prime minister, takes on top co-ordinating role

Brexit and coronavirus have prompted drive for improving trade resilience

Tomi Kovanen argues that investors and pundits should temper their expectations for the industry in the short term, but increase them for the long term.

Chamonix’s cable car back in business after two months, albeit with strict social-distancing measures

Sterling has taken a beating in the currency markets, falling to a fresh two-year low against the US dollar on Tuesday. Michael Hunter discusses why this has happened and who will be affected with Katie Martin, the FT's capital markets editor.

Contributors: Michael Hunter, markets reporter, and Katie Martin, capital markets editor. Producer: Fiona Symon

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Allegations of high-level corruption have convulsed the Mediterranean island state of Malta and shocked the rest of Europe. Public anger has been unleashed by dramatic recent developments in the investigation into the killing of the journalist Daphne Caruana Galizia in a car bomb attack in October 2017. Ben Hall discusses the wider repercussions of the case with Josephine Cumbo and Michael Peel.

Contributors: Ben Hall, Europe editor, Josephine Cumbo, pensions correspondent, and Michael Peel, EU diplomatic correspondent. Producer: Fiona Symon

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Two recent books about the Trump administration have shed a damning light on the character of the man who occupies the White House. The FT’s Edward Luce and Frederick Studemann discuss Crime in Progress by Glenn Simpson and Peter Fritsch and A Warning by Anonymous. 

You can read Edward Luce’s review of the books here.

Contributors: Frederick Studemann, literary editor and Edward Luce, US national editor. Producers: Fiona Symon and Persis Love. Photo credit: Allen Lane/Penguin Books, Twelve Books

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Caroline Criado-Perez won the latest Financial Times and McKinsey Business Book of the Year Award with her book Invisible Women: Exposing Data Bias in a World Designed for Men. She spoke to Andrew Hill, the FT’s management editor, about the consequences for women and for society as a whole of using men as the default model.

Contributors: Andrew Hill, management editor, and Caroline Criado Perez. Producers: Marc Filippino and Fiona Symon

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Russia’s president Vladimir Putin has been in power for two decades and now it looks as though he intends to stay indefinitely. He has launched an overhaul of the country’s power structures that could allow him to extend his control after his official term ends in 2024. Katie Martin discusses the move with Max Seddon in Moscow and Ben Hall, Europe editor.

Contributors: Katie Martin, capital markets editor, Max Seddon, Moscow correspondent, and Ben Hall, Europe editor. Producer: Fiona Symon

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K-Pop has never been more popular. However, a recent string of high profile controversies including a rape conviction and two suicides have sullied the image of the Korean cultural export. Edward White talks to Patricia Nilsson about what makes a K-Pop star, why the singers are under so much pressure, and what the industry means to the country’s economy.

Contributors: Edward White, Seoul correspondent and Patricia Nilsson, Media reporter. Producer: Persis Love

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