LIVE FROM MONDAY 29TH JUNE 2020 Tim Levell, Programme will be able to enjoy engaging and Director, Times Radio: informed discussions from the moment they wake up at breakfast Our promise to listeners is that, with Aasmah Mir & Stig Abell until in a world of noise and confusion, bedtime with Carole Walker. Times Radio will offer intelligent and thought-provoking news, analysis On Fridays and the weekends we and conversation, hosted by respected have big names and personalities to and entertaining presenters. keep our listeners hooked, including Michael Portillo, Giles Coren, Cathy We have brought together the Newman and Ayesha Hazarika. peerless journalistic expertise of The Times and The Sunday Times with Our listeners can expect expert guests the speech radio and podcasting and commentators and for us to cover experience of Wireless, the company the biggest news stories of the day, behind talkSPORT, talkRADIO and from politics and business to arts and Virgin Radio UK. sport, and feature themes that are relevant to their daily lives. Our focus has been to create a stellar line-up of warm, witty and expert Times Radio will be available 24 hours presenters from a range of broadcast a day on DAB, via app, smart speaker backgrounds. Across our Monday and times.radio from Monday 29th to Thursday schedule our listeners June 2020. Weekday Weekend PRESENTERS Aasmah Mir and Stig Abell with Matt Chorley Times Radio Breakfast 10am-1pm Monday to Thursday 6am-10am Monday to Thursday Times Red Box editor Matt Chorley is one of the Waking up listeners to informative discussion, quality most respected political journalists operating in news and compelling analysis at breakfast are Sony Gold Westminster, providing insider analysis in his Red Box award-winning broadcaster Aasmah Mir and broadcaster newsletter and award-winning podcast. In his new and editor of the Times Literary Supplement Stig Abell. morning show Matt, who also moonlights as a stand-up Both friendly and entertaining, Aasmah and Stig make a comedian, will bring events in Westminster to life with dynamic duo and guarantee a thought-provoking listen. an array of political guests and expert commentators. What do you want your listeners more explaining. We won’t assume always alive to what is going on in You have already hosted an award- For too long politics was seen as to know about you? knowledge but we won’t play dumb our country, and the world more winning podcast, how will your something that other people did, Aasmah: I’m a Glaswegian, of either. We’ll be politely tough and broadly, to reflect reality and help new radio show be different? over there, up in London, and Pakistani heritage. I got a law have a few laughs along the way. everyone understand it better. I’m hoping it won’t be too different, everyone tuned in once every degree but ended up in journalism We’ll cover all four nations and because I want to retain the feel four years for an election. The EU via a graduate trainee scheme at the world too. We’re perplexed and What can listeners expect from of listening in on interesting referendum, and the turbulence STV. I’ve been a radio producer as maddened and confused by the the breakfast show? people having an interesting that followed, changed all that. The breakfast show is a place well as a presenter. I had a child news sometimes too and we want Stig: conversation. I also want to keep So I often found myself explaining to discover the day: Aasmah and I quite late on in life and it’s been a to reflect that. Listen in. You’ll find the humour: politics is a serious to this new engaged audience will try to focus on all the stories hilarious struggle. You won’t find your radio home. business, but sometimes the best that someone posing for a photo me at parties or hen weekends or that matter, and go digging to make way of explaining it is through while they resigned or half the barbecues, but you will find me How is Times Radio different to sure we and our listeners will end levity rather than a lecture. The big frontbench quitting was not other stations? staring at the sea or reading a each morning understanding a difference is being live, so if a story normal. People want to understand Stig: We want Times Radio - in book. I don’t drink but I have bit more about what is going on breaks we can turn to our guests this stuff, and we should explain a time when public discourse has a filthy chocolate habit. I’m in the world than we did when we and get their informed take on it. not just what is happening, but so often lacked nuance - to be a obsessed by Spain and Spanish started. We will hear from key why and how, and who is behind place of warmth, expertise and and did a Spanish A level last figures in positions of authority, Your political comedy stand- it. And despite the 2019 election usefulness. To be somewhere you year. I love being alone but I’m and from experts who can make up show was called This.is.not. resulting in the first proper know that - whatever time you turn really friendly honestly! sense of their decisions. We will normal, can you explain your majority government for a decade, on - you will get thoughtful people approach to covering politics? talk to the biggest names in arts and the madness looks set to continue. Describe to a new listener what discussing the issues that matter, entertainment too. Aasmah and I they can expect from your show? with knowledge and freedom. We will not take ourselves too seriously, Aasmah: You’ll be informed, you’ll won’t have to stop something and will not pretend knowledge we know everything you need to know important to go to pre-booked don’t have. The show should be plus the bits that occurred to us programming, or to live sport, or one long interesting conversation that were interesting or needed to start a phone-in. We want to be about everything. Mariella Frostrup John Pienaar Phil Williams 1pm- 4pm Monday to Thursday 4pm-7pm Monday to Thursday 7pm-10pm Monday to Thursday One of Britain’s most established opinion- The former BBC Deputy Political Editor Established broadcaster Phil Williams forming journalists, broadcasters and John Pienaar will bring his years of wisdom will take listeners through the big stories campaigners Mariella Frostrup joins Times and expertise to analyse the big stories of the of the day from the UK and around the Radio in her biggest radio venture to date. moment. His show will be a well-informed world with expert guests and analysis. Mariella will bring listeners an engaging and exploration of the most important issues, in Phil will also get into the arts and keep his educated look at the arts, culture, family the company of one of the most personable listeners across the latest sports news. and social issues - as well as discussions and and likeable broadcasters in Britain. interviews with celebrity guests. What do you want listeners to fields of politics and science What do you want your listeners something new and so exciting. How will your show be different approach to interviewing. know about your new show? and popular culture it will be to know about you? to others in the schedule? In these changing times we’ve essential listening. I know I’m one of those people - Describe to a new listener what My show is different because it’s What do you want listeners to all learnt that we are more quite small in number and hugely they can expect from your show? the only show with sport and know about your new show? adaptable than we thought What topics and subjects are gifted in luck - who absolutely My one big ambition for my show culture built in as permanent Listeners need to know that it’ll and I’d like my show to reflect you passionate about and plan love what they do for a living. is that its leaves listeners feeling fixtures. Each night we have be THE place to hang out with this opening up of new ideas, to cover in your show? I’ll admit to being a news and better off. Listening to me doing my both the best sports writers the radio in the evening. After celebrating diversity and the As an autodidact my interests politics obsessive. But I also job should never, ever feel like hard from the Times and Sunday each show, you’ll hopefully have many pioneering initiatives roam far and wide but I’m very understand that most normal work. I don’t just want listeners to Times, plus stand alone half learned something about the taking place behind the much hoping that my many years people are neither of those wish they were part of a discussion hour interviews with key culture day’s top stories, you’ll have had headlines. We all need to play exploring the broader cultural things, at least most of the time, on my programme. I want them to figures. The time of our show at least a smile if not a laugh a part in how the world is and political world along with so I try to look at stories the way feel as if they are there, sitting at also allows us to reflect the day’s with us. You will also have a new reconfigured and I’m hoping by my long term advocacy for they appear from outside the the table with everyone else talking events, before forecasting how book/tv show/album/cultural proactively challenging news women’s and children’s issues political, business and every other directly to them.