What You Need To Know

ITV News

The quick and expert briefing on the biggest news stories. Our team of specialist correspondents plus guests bring you information and analysis you can trust so you get What You Need To Know in minutes.

Subscribe Listen in podnod RSS feed Show website

705 episodes
Updated Thursday

Episodes705

Newest first

Apr 4, 2025 · 11 min
Car loans battle reaches Supreme Court - but can you still claim?
A showdown in The Supreme Court this week will determine whether millions of drivers who bought vehicles with loans are owed compensation. If successful, they could be due total payouts of up to 30 billion pounds. But if you haven't made a claim yet, is it too late? Consumer Editor Chris Choi tells Lucrezia Millarini what you need to know.
Apr 2, 2025 · 12 min
Why are so many women being denied home births?
For many women, giving birth is a life-defining moment - one which they want as much choice and control over as possible. But data shared exclusively with ITV News has revealed that for those wanting to give birth at home, that choice is often being restricted or even removed all together. So why are so many struggling to have home births? Health Correspondent Rebecca Barry tells Lucy Watson what you need to know.
Mar 31, 2025 · 12 min
How microplastics get inside you (and how to avoid them)
You may not have heard of microplastics but you are surrounded by them. Chewing gum, carpets, tea bags - they all contain these tiny fragments...and therefore, so do we. There's growing research looking at the links between microplastics and dementia, fertility and certain cancers. And now a private London clinic has developed a new treatment to remove them from your blood - but does it work? Science Correspondent Martin Stew tells Lucy Watson what you need to know...
Mar 28, 2025 · 15 min
The rise of 'skinnytok' and the AI 'chubby filter' controversy
As you scroll and scroll on your phone - do you ever stop to think how what you are seeing is making you feel? TikTok has removed a filter which used AI to make people chubbier after it was called out for body shaming. But with a "skinnytok" trend on the rise, is the app doing enough to tackle the surge in videos promoting unhealthy weight loss? Digital Reporter Cree-Summer Haughton tells Lucy Watson what you need to know...
Mar 26, 2025 · 13 min
Why Turkey has erupted in protest and what it means for the world
Turkey is a country we all know. We go on holiday there. We enjoy its big cities. It's a member of NATO. But, in the last week, the closest rival to President Erdogan has been arrested and jailed for alleged corruption and terrorism charges. Protestors have taken to the streets across the country - fearing their democracy is dying. And with its vital role across Europe and the Middle East - how will Turkey's fate affect all of us? From Istanbul, Senior Correspondent John Ray tells Lucy Watson what you need to know.
Mar 24, 2025 · 9 min
What will Stephen Graham's drama Adolescence change?
Have you seen Netflix's Adolescence? It's a chilling, thrilling new four-part drama about a young boy accused of a horrific crime. It's had rave reviews and started tough conversations. But can it lead to actual change? Stephen Graham, one of its stars and co-writers, certainly hopes so and our Arts Editor Nina Nannar has met him. She tells Mary Nightingale what you need to know. -- Nina Nannar's full interview with Stephen Graham and Adolescence director Philip Barantini on ITV News's Unscripted Podcast - https://www.itv.com/news/2025-03-16/stephen-graham-and-adolescence-a-pandemic-of-knife-crime-in-our-country
Mar 21, 2025 · 19 min
The triple killer who came close to a mass school shooting
Nicholas Prosper has been jailed for a minimum of 49 years for murdering his mum Juliana Falcon, sister Giselle Prosper and brother Kyle Prosper. But the day could have been unimaginably more deadly. The Luton teenager had planned to carry out the largest school shooting in UK history. So what inspired him, what stopped him and what must be done to prevent such horror again? ITV Anglia's Rosie Dowsing tells Lucy Watson what you need to know.
Mar 19, 2025 · 15 min
The benefits changes explained
Almost a fortnight after ITV News first reported it, the government has now laid out the biggest shake up of the benefits system in a decade. It wants to get more people, with and without disabilities, in work. It says the changes will save £5n in the next five years But who will be affected and how badly? ITV News Deputy Political Editor Anushka Asthana tells Lucy Watson what you need to know...
Mar 17, 2025 · 15 min
Chemsex: A 'silent crisis' claiming LGBT+ lives
Across the country, men are being hospitalised and dying after using drugs to enhance sex. Despite this, it's being called a silent crisis - it's not being talked about and the NHS hasn't gathered much data on it. It's called chemsex - but why is so little known about it? Sam Leader and social psychologist Marc Svensson tell I'm Lucy Watson and this is what you need to know. -- Sam's full report: https://www.itv.com/news/2025-03-11/a-silent-crisis-chemsex-drugs-claiming-lgbt-lives-yet-few-are-listening Marc's organisation You Are Loved: https://www.youare-loved.com/
Mar 14, 2025 · 14 min
Why you need to check your hot water bottle NOW!
When did you last change your hot water bottle? Have you ever done it? They don't last forever but its unclear HOW long you can safely use it. And with soaring heating bills leading to huge sales, ITV News has learned the confusion is leading to serious injuries. Consumer editor Chris Choi and producer Sylvia Kuczynska tell Lucy Watson what you need to know.
Mar 12, 2025 · 13 min
Mum's warning after extreme pregnancy sickness suicide
Non-stop nausea, vomiting and weight loss - why wasn’t Jess Cronshaw’s extreme pregnancy sickness picked up before it was too late? It led to Jess taking her own life and now her mum’s demanding action. And 13 years after Princess Kate brought the sickness to worldwide attention - why are the signs still being missed? Cari Davies tells Lucy Watson what you need to know. For more information and support: https://pregnancysicknesssupport.org.uk/ https://www.samaritans.org/how-we-can-help/contact-samaritan/
Mar 10, 2025 · 13 min
Is Oregon the blueprint for assisted dying in the UK?
It was the death Jessica Lantz wanted - falling asleep at home, next to her soulmate in front of their all-time favourite movie. It was also completely legal. Now the laws that allowed Jessica to die in America are guiding those who are looking to make assisted dying part of life in England and Wales. But are the safeguards really that safe? Paul Brand and Nathan Lee met Jessica days before her death. They tell Lucrezia Millarini what you need to know…
Mar 7, 2025 · 14 min
The car loans controversy that’s set to erupt
A whistleblower tells us he feels "guilty" about the huge bonuses he got by making car buyers pay thousands more in interest. But an industry boss questions whether there even is a scandal. So what has been happening with car financing? And who could get compensation? ITV News Consumer Editor Chris Choi tells Lucrezia Millarini what you need to know...
Mar 5, 2025 · 18 min
The son left eating out of a bin by his care home
Eating out of a bin, being shouted at and having to wake sleeping staff. A mother knew her son’s care home wasn’t right and her secret filming confirmed her fears. ITV News has learned he was far from alone. Daniel Hewitt and Isabel Alderson-Blench tell Lucy Watson what you need to know...
Mar 3, 2025 · 13 min
Why the eating disorder ARFID is so misunderstood
Imagine being unable to eat anything but a few specific foods and worse still, not being believed. The NHS has recognised the eating disorder ARFID for more than a decade - yet treatment is still very hard to get, despite fatal warnings. So what is Arfid and why are sufferers struggling to get help? ITV Central's Social Affairs Correspondent Lucy Kapasi tells Lucy Watson what you need to know... --- For more information about Arfid visit Beat's website: https://www.beateatingdisorders.org.uk/ and Arfid Awareness UK's website: https://www.arfidawarenessuk.org/ --- You can see more of Lucy's reporting on ARFID here: https://www.itv.com/news/search?q=arfid
Feb 28, 2025 · 10 min
The Oscar nominees who escaped the LA fires
They’ve endured the Covid shutdown, strike action and most recently devastating fires - all while making the hit movies of our times. Now the creative talents behind Wicked and The Brutalist are being honoured at the Oscars - the industrys biggest night - just weeks after fleeing their own homes. But with other looming threats to the film industry, is this really any time for celebration? From Los Angeles, our Arts Editor Nina Nannar tells Mary Nightingale what you need to know…
Feb 26, 2025 · 13 min
Simone White: Can another backpacker poisoning be stopped?
For Sue White, it was a tragic race across the world to be with with her daughter for her final days. Twenty-eight-year-old Simone was poisoned with methanol in a Laos backpacker bar last November. Now Sue wants action to prevent further people being killed. Chloe Keedy tells Yasmin Bodalbhai what you need to know... -- You can watch Chloe's full report here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YXl-rkJsucA
Feb 24, 2025 · 8 min
Is London's ankle tagging, disproportionately affecting black people?
The latest quick briefing focuses on data showing black ex knife crime offender's in London are more than twice as likely to be tagged with an ankle monitor upon release. It's critics have described it as 'damaging, divisive and disproportionate.' They've been used as a solution to Britain's prison overcrowding, but have those in power failed to ensure justice remains truly blind? ITV News Reporter Kaf Okpattah tells Cari Davies what you need to know...
Feb 20, 2025 · 15 min
Britain's secret scandal of forced adoption
The latest quick briefing focuses on the historic scandal of forced adoption in Britain. It’s been described as one of Britain’s darkest social injustices. It's estimated over 200,000 babies were taken from their mothers in homes run by both Church and State. The mother’s endured cruelty and abuse, their children - generational trauma and questions to which many will never find answers. ITV News Social Affairs Correspondent Sarah Corker tells Cari Davies what you need to know...
Feb 17, 2025 · 16 min
Why do so many young Germans support the far-right?
The latest quick briefing focuses on the growing support amoung young German voters for the far-right AfD party. For decades in Germany the politics of the far-right has been associated with a terrible chapter in the country's history. But now a new generation of young voters say they're considering voting for the far-right party Alternative for Deutschland. So why is the AfD so popular with young Germans? ITV News Reporter George Hancorn and Producer Sophia Ankel tell Geraint Vincent what you need to know...