This Is Why

The 33-year-old star has announced that she is taking a break from public life due to “endless scrutiny”. In recent years her weight and health have been the subject of much speculation and concern.
Grande has endured a series of traumatic events. In 2017 a suicide bomber killed 22 people at her Manchester Arena show, and in 2018 her musical collaborator and ex-boyfriend Mac Miller died of an accidental overdose. Her latest music video Petal - in which she takes a chainsaw to her critics - sparked controversy as she looks visibly underweight.
But what’s the balance between ghoulish voyeurism and concern? And does she have a responsibility to her young impressionable fans? Mhari Aurora is joined by journalist and author of Toxic: Women, Fame And The Noughties, Sarah Ditum.
If you or someone you know needs support with disordered eating, you can contact Beat, the eating disorder charity, via their website beateatingdisorders.org.uk.
Have you got a question for Niall? Email us: why@sky.uk

Nigel Farage has held his first press conference in months as he launched his party's new policy to tackle small boat arrivals, if it formed the next government.
It would see the Royal Navy intercepting boats carrying migrants and return them "under escort" to France or Belgium.
Reform's opponents have branded the plan unworkable, with the Tories saying the policy is not credible. But with Nigel Farage’s approval rating collapsing by 10 points in a fortnight, and Reform UK losing ground in recent elections to Labour and Restore, will this announcement help win back Reform's lost voters? Or is it more about distracting people from talking about Farage's finances?
Mhari Aurora is joined by Alain Tolhurst, chief reporter at Politics Home, to discuss how significant this policy announcement is.
Have you got a question for Niall? Email us: why@sky.uk

Listen to Stuff Matters and subscribe for members-only content
You'll never think about a banana or look at your airpods in the same way after listening to this episode.
It’s the podcast crossover the world has been waiting for. Niall Paterson sits down with Sky’s data and economics editor Ed Conway to discuss his six-part podcast Stuff Matters.
The premise of the show is simple - Ed takes an everyday object before diving down a rabbit hole to explore what it tells us about the forces shaping our world.
So - how did a banana trigger a CIA-backed coup? What do LED lights tell us about the future of humanity? Listen to this episode of This Is Why... and then listen to Stuff Matters.
Have you got a question for Niall? Email us: why@sky.uk

The beautiful game is up for sale, with FIFA boss Gianni Infantino trying to raise billions of dollars from private equity for a stake in the World Cup.
It’s put him on a collision course with some of football’s most powerful bodies – including the Premier League and UEFA, which says it will boycott FIFA competitions if these plans go ahead. So, what is Infantino proposing and why is it being rushed through?
Could England and other European nations really go for the nuclear option and pull out of the World Cup? And what is the involvement of Donald Trump and his family?
Mhari Aurora is joined by Sky’s sports correspondent Rob Harris.
Have you got a question for the podcast? Email us: why@sky.uk

Continental Europe is ablaze. Could Britain be next?
While we are yet to see the sort of devastation being experienced in France and Spain, record temperatures and drought conditions have already contributed to hundreds of wildfires across parts of the country.
And experts are warning the UK can expect bigger and more dangerous fires in the future. So, what is causing this threat and how well prepared are we?
Mhari Aurora hears from Sky correspondent Sadiya Chowdhury on France's frontline and speaks to wildfire safety expert Michael Bruce.