Our return to normality has taken a massive leap forward this week, but politicians and

scientists are still collectively urging caution. As restaurants, pubs and cinemas reopen,

two words are still haunting press conferences and whitehall briefings. The Indian variant.

Could it be a stumbling block in our road map to normality? Will the government's plans need

a rethink?

We do think, I think, that it certainly may cause disruption to our attempts to continue

down the road map. Lockdown is due to end in England on the 21st

of June. Could this cause serious disruption to that timetable? And what does our response

to the Indian variant tell us about the future of our pandemic strategy?

We're going to have to get used to the idea that the pandemic isn't really over anywhere

until it's over, everywhere.

You're listening to stories of our times, from the times and the Sunday times. I'm Manvin

Rana. Today, will the Indian variant change our road map back to normality?

Oh, well. Yes, how are you? It feels like it's been a while.

It has. It has. Everything's been sort of calming down a little bit for me, but now

less calming downy, would the Indian variant?

Since our very first episode back in March 2020, as the prospect of the first lockdown

loomed over the country, one person has guided us through every twist and turn of this

pandemic. I'm Tom Whipple, and I'm the science editor at the Times.

So Tom, we're talking about the Indian variant. It's all over the headlines. It's what everybody's

getting worried about. How much of an emergency is this?

As ever, with the caveat that we are amidst a global pandemic, it's probably going to

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