Times Talk by Times of Malta

Times Talk: The secret life of your ballot 28.05.2026 58dk

The country's going to the polls in less than 48 hours, and this latest episode of Times Talk is an essential guide for the perplexed.It breaks down the mechanics of Malta’s electoral system - one of the most democratic, yet complex, in the world.Our speakers trace where your vote will go from the moment you slide it in the ballot box on Saturday till all MPs are elected next week.But the episode also uncovers the lid on a second election at play – an often overlooked, but perhaps more heated – battle between candidates of the same parties within districts.

Times Talk - Are election polls lying to us? 21.05.2026 41dk

With just over a week remaining before Maltese voters head to the polls to choose Malta's next prime minister, the latest episode of Times Talk delves into the science and controversy behind political polling, as current surveys continue to indicate a significant lead for the Labour Party.Times of Malta fact-checker Neville Borg and Esprimi CEO Morgan Parnis joined the podcast. Borg gives an overview of what the polls are showing while Parnis explains the results and why some polls differ from others, even when they are carried out during the same period.If you have questions about the polls, this episode will attempt to answer as many of them as possible.

Times Talk - Entitled voters, shackled leaders 16.05.2026 58dk

It is very worrying the the election campaign has, so far, almost entirely revolved around 'what's in it for me', according to political analysts Lou Bondi and Michelle Attard Tonna.The two were speaking on the latest episode of Times Talk Campaign Watch during which they dissected the third week of the election campaign.The lavish promises are creating a sense of entitlement in people while making it very hard for the next prime minister - whoever it may be - to lead effectively in a very volatile global climate, they warned.Even worse, there are several issues no party seems to be addressing during the campaign.Watch the episode on Times of Malta, YouTube or wherever you get your podcasts.

Times Talk - The elephants in Malta’s election room 08.05.2026 1sa 7dk

The second week of Malta’s 2026 general election campaign sparked its first controversies. As Labour leader Robert Abela and Nationalist Party leader Alex Borg make their political pitches, mainly through cash bonanzas, are the country’s (medium-to-long term) problems being ignored?In this episode of Times Talk, Times of Malta editor-in-chief Herman Grech sits down with former Labour deputy leader and president Daniel Micallef and former PN chief of staff Ray Bezzina to dissect the campaign narratives, the long-term economic impact of today’s pledges, the racism directed at Omar Rababah, and the growing debate over overdevelopment.It was a candid discussion on the issues shaping Malta’s election, and the ones politicians may prefer to avoid.

Times Talk - Power, underdogs, and a supermarket of promises 01.05.2026 50dk

Prime Minister Robert Abela has called an early general election for May 30.The campaign’s opening days have already seen a wave of pledges and voter-focused measures, as the main parties begin to draw their battle lines.With the Labour government firmly in the driving seat and making full use of its incumbency advantage, the question remains: can the Nationalist Party, led by a relatively new leader, close the gap and defy the opinion polls? In the first political Times Talk podcast of the campaign, Herman Grech, editor-in-chief of Times of Malta, sits down with Kurt Sansone, executive editor of MaltaToday, and sociologist Michael Briguglio to discuss Election 2026.

Twannie The mystery around Malta's schoolboy murder 27.04.2026 37dk

The youngest daughter of Ġiġa and Leli Camilleri has called for the reopening of the Twannie Aquilina murder case, claiming her parents were wrongfully convicted of a brutal crime committed by someone else.In a rare and emotional interview on Times Talk, Marthese Camilleri insisted that her brother was sexually assaulted before his throat was slit – a detail she claims was confirmed by an autopsy but never emerged in court.Accompanied by the Times Talk team, Marthese returned to the very flat in St Dominic Street, Valletta, where the murder occurred 66 years ago, marking the first time she stepped into the crime scene since the time of the murder.“People continue to judge us and hurt us, and I believe it’s time they hear our side of the story,” she said.

The controversy: Bil-Malti or in English? 25.04.2026 51dk

Broadcaster Peppi Azzopardi said he learned English as a young boy because the school he went to forced students to wear a sign around their neck that read: ‘I must speak in English’.And while he admitted the sign was demeaning, he insisted that it propelled him to learn English, as his parents did not know how to speak the language.Azzopardi was defending his controversial Popolin proposals during a heated exchange on the latest Times Talk episode. Poet and writer professor Immanuel Mifsud and pedagogy expert Jacqueline Zammit were also on the panel, and they dismissed his suggestions as illogical, arguing they would do little to bridge the success gap for working-class children.

Times Talk: A tanker adrift 18.03.2026 18dk

There is a Russian oil tanker adrift about 100km to the South East of Malta right now.Its crew abandoned it two weeks ago after it was hit by a huge explosion.Russia hasn't come to pick it up and no country - including Malta - will touch it.Still though, all eyes are on it, as it is loaded with some 700 tonnes of fuel and it could blow up.In a 20-minute episode that will be out on Wednesday, Times Talk will discuss the inside story of how the Russian tanker story was discovered and revealed, what the authorities are saying and fearing behind closed doors, and how the government went from denying concerns to asking the EU for help.

Times Talk: Some of the biggest mysteries of the universe explained 21.02.2026 1sa 26dk

What are the chances that aliens are real? And if they are, what do they look like, where are they and how come they never visit? And if they were to visit, how would they even do it?Is time travel to the past and to the future possible? It turns out it is – at least one way.And what is the likelihood that there are other worlds like ours out there? The short answer is: very likely. The long answer is even more interesting.In a wide-ranging 90-minute discussion on Times Talk, astrophysicist professor Joseph Caruana breaks down the staggering reality of our existence – from the probability of humanity living in a computer simulation to the probability of time travel.During the episode the 39-year-old Oxford-educated researcher and University of Malta lecturer explains why most of the universe is still a mystery and how scientists have managed to trace back its beginning 14 billion years ago. And along the way he answers a myriad of other questions.When will the world end? Will the universe end? What happens to us after we die? And how is human consciousness the way the universe finally knows about itself?And from all that he knows about the universe, does it look like there is a God? Does the universe need a creator to keep it going? Did it even need a creator?And is it possible that we are all living in a computer simulation? Short answer is: quite possibly.Watch the full 90-minute Times Talk episode to find out.

The shooting that sparked Black Monday 08.02.2026 44dk

Forty-six years ago, a man walked into Castille with a gun. Gunshots rang out. The man was dragged out bleeding. He was accused of trying to kill Prime Minister Dom Mintoff. That same day, thugs destroyed Times of Malta offices and ransacked the home of Mintoff’s rival, Eddie Fenech Adami.In this episode, Times Talk explores one of the darkest days in Malta's modern history.

How Times of Malta editors saw 2025 | Times Talk 30.12.2025 47dk

There was no single news event that overshadowed all other Times of Malta headlines in 2025. But that does not mean it was a year without interesting events. From a building collapse in Paceville to family tragedies, the (second) rise of Donald Trump and the potential sale of HSBC Malta, Times of Malta journalists were kept busy right to the end of the year.In this episode, Mark Laurence Zammit sits down with Times of Malta editor-in-chief Herman Grech, online editor Bertrand Borg, print editor Anthony Manduca and news editor Diana Cacciottolo to get their insights into the stories that made 2025

Times Talk: Happiest Stories of 2025 27.12.2025 36dk

In a world often dominated by bad, sometimes even depressing, news, Times of Malta journalists Mark Laurence Zammit, Emma Borg and Daniel Ellul sat down to look back on just the happiest stories of 2025.

Times Talk: A five-hour work day should be enough, employer insists 22.12.2025 1sa

Former Chamber President Marisa Xuereb said most people can only produce top quality work for five hours a day A five-hour work day is sufficient for most employees to produce high-quality work in today’s technology-driven economy, according to former Chamber president Marisa Xuereb. Speaking on Times Talk, the long-time entrepreneur and employer said most people including herself can only produce top quality work for five hours a day, and if they worked for 25 hours a week (five hours a day for five days) they would likely produce around the same amount of work they do when they work eight hours daily.

Watch: Delia and Attard clash in fiery Times Talk debate 14.11.2025 1sa 5dk

Adrian Delia and Jonathan Attard clashed in their first face-to-face debate since the conclusion of international arbitration between Malta and Steward Health Care, during a Times Talk episode filmed on Wednesday.Throughout the fiery debate, the pair butted heads over who emerged on top in the arbitration proceedings, whether the government could have pursued a different legal route, and what the tribunal actually said about a €400 million sum supposedly stolen by Steward.Armed with a stack of meticulously annotated documents in hand, almost certainly the various court sentences, reports and rulings handed down throughout this multi-year saga, neither Attard nor Delia held back once the cameras were rolling.Attard was speaking as justice minister while former opposition leader Delia waged a lengthy legal campaign that ended with a court annulling all contracts awarded to Steward and its predecessor Vitals Global Healthcare.

'My father killed my mother. How do you talk about that?' 09.11.2025 43dk

When Karl Schembri was a boy, his father carried a dark and unspoken history – years of sexual abuse at the hands of a priest.The trauma left deep scars, and as an adult, his father’s mind began to unravel. The voices that haunted him eventually drove him to commit an unthinkable act: the murder of Schembri’s mother.Schembri, an author, journalist and activist, has now finally broken a decades-long silence through his new novel Eħlisna mid-Deni (Deliver us from Evil). He tells Times Talk the book - a work of fiction inspired by his real story - is his way of achieving justice for a human tragedy that the authorities systematically overlooked for years.

Clyde Caruana: 'I don't want the Maltese to become extinct' 02.11.2025 1sa 5dk

Days after announcing major tax cuts for parents, Finance Minister Clyde Caruana tells Mark Laurence Zammit he is not happy with people who are upset that families are to get some extra help. In a one-hour interview about Budget 2026 measures, Caruana also speaks frankly about mass public transport, worker productivity and the end of cash-for-passports income.

A morning with Transport Malta handling rush hour traffic | Times Talk 20.10.2025 17dk

Traffic has become the single biggest problem with living in Malta. Transport Malta's traffic team is responsible for ensuring it flows smoothly. We joined the team on a Monday morning as they monitored traffic flows, cleared roads and responded to crashes.

Wayne Flask and Michael Stivala go head to head on Times Talk 03.10.2025 56dk

Michael Stivala is one the country's biggest developers and president of the Malta Development Association (MDA). Wayne Flask is a long-time environmental activist and secretary general of the NGO Il-Kollettiv.The two agree on almost nothing when it comes to construction and development - which is why this week they went head to head in this Times Talk debate on the highly controversial planning reform.

Times Talk: The scammers targeting Malta 22.09.2025 1sa 26dk

A woman was convinced she was chatting on Facebook with Pope Leo XIV and was sending him money for his projects – and she simply did not believe Bank of Valletta when it told her the ‘pope’ was a scammer.Another man lost his life savings to a fictitious Canadian woman whom he chatted with for months, and after she took all his money, he went to look for her abroad, only to discover the address she gave him didn’t exist.And another woman spent seven years and €170,000 trying to buy a dog that never even existed.These are not plot lines from a film but real-life stories of Maltese people who have lost a lot of money to sophisticated online scams during the past months. Their stories are detailed in this episode of Times Talk.The episode delves into a wave of increasingly sophisticated and insidious online scams that is sweeping across Europe, leaving a trail of financial and emotional devastation.

Can Alex Borg make the PN win again? 14.09.2025 47dk

Alex Borg won a nail-biter of a leadership race a week ago. Now, as Malta's new Opposition leader, he must lead the PN out of the political doldrums and make it electable once again. In this Times Talk interview, the PN's new leader speaks about the party's future and finances, his relationship with leadership rival Adrian Delia and perceptions that he is close to big business.