Newscast

Today, Newscast was recorded at the Edinburgh Fringe in front of a live audience. Adam was joined by Americast’s Sarah Smith and friend of the podcast James Cook to discuss all things Trump. They chat about what it’s like being part of the President’s press pack, why Sydney Sweeney’s jeans are so controversial, plus what last week’s Truth Social posts about nuclear submarines were all about. You c...

Today, Newscast was recorded at the Edinburgh Fringe in front of a live audience. Adam was joined by friends of the podcast Brian Cox, actor, and James Graham, playwright and screenwriter, who are putting on the play Make It Happen at the Edinburgh International Festival. They discuss re-imagining the 2008 financial crisis for the stage in Edinburgh, and Brian’s portrayal of the ghost of economist...

Today’s Old Newscast looks at the full effect the expenses scandal had on the British public. Adam is joined again by Chris Hope and Jo Coburn to assess its legacy, and why the story had such a lasting impact on British public life. You can now listen to Newscast on a smart speaker. If you want to listen, just say "Ask BBC Sounds to play Newscast”. It works on most smart speakers. You can join our...

Today’s Old Newscast focuses on 8 May 2009 - the day that The Daily Telegraph publishes the first in a long series of stories about MPs expenses. We hear how the information that changed the way the British public view politics was leaked. Adam is joined by two people who were reporting at the heart of the story - former Whitehall Editor of the Telegraph, Chris Hope, and Jo Coburn - then of the BB...

Today, a landmark result from the Supreme Court rules that lenders won't have to pay compensation to millions of motorists over car finance loans. The Court determined dealerships weren't duty-bound to act solely in the interests of their customers, overturning a previous judgement that ruled in favour of consumers. It was a long and complex verdict so Adam is joined by political correspondent Hel...

Today, US President Donald Trump has said that Canada’s move to recognise a Palestinian state threatens a trade deal between the countries. The news comes as US special envoy to the Middle East, Steve Witkoff, is meeting Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in Israel. Canada’s announcement follows similar plans by the UK and France from earlier this week. So are the US now becoming increasingly isola...

Today, a massive 8.8 magnitude earthquake off Russia's far eastern coast has triggered tsunami warnings across the Pacific. The quake struck near Russia's Kamchatka Peninsula at about 11:25am local time on Wednesday (00:25 BST) and is thought to be one of the most powerful ever recorded. Around two million people were ordered to evacuate in Japan, Russia, and Hawaii - although many of those warnin...

Today, UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer has announced plans to recognise a Palestinian state in September unless Israel meets certain conditions, including a ceasefire and a commitment to a long-term peace process. Adam is joined by Lyse Doucet and Alex Forsyth to explain the day’s events. It comes the same day as a major alert from the UN-backed Integrated Food Security Phase Classification (IPC) w...

Today, Trump and Starmer have met in Scotland and held a joint press conference covering a range of topics from aid in Gaza and the war in Ukraine, to wind energy. The US President met UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer at a golf course owned by Trump. Speaking as the two men met, President Trump said he was reducing the 50 day deadline given to Vladimir Putin to agree a deal with Ukraine to “10 or 12...

Over the summer holidays, we’ve brought back Old Newscast - where we pick big news days in history and look at what happened and the consequences. In this episode, that day is 11 February, when Nelson Mandela was released from prison after 27 years. Former Southern Africa correspondent Fergal Keane joins, with his former producer and BBC Africa bureaux editor Milton Nkosi. Listen to yesterday’s ep...

Over the summer holidays, we’ve brought back Old Newscast - where we pick big news days in history and look at what happened and the consequences. In this episode, that day is 11 February, when Nelson Mandela was released from prison after 27 years. Former Southern Africa correspondent Fergal Keane joins, with his former producer and BBC Africa bureaux editor Milton Nkosi. Tomorrow we’ll look at t...

Today, Adam and Chris takeover the Listening Post at Latitude Festival in Henham Park to discuss the day’s news in front of a live audience. The government is under pressure as resident doctors begin a five-day strike in England after failing to reach an agreement over pay. The Prime Minister Keir Starmer has urged them not to follow their union down a “damaging road”. Meanwhile, US President Dona...

Today, we discuss the ongoing humanitarian crisis in Gaza, where more than 100 international aid organisations say the population is facing mass starvation and call on Israel to allow access. A number of news agencies including the BBC have released a statement calling for Israel to allow journalists in and out of Gaza, expressing concern for their journalists “who are increasingly unable to feed...

Today, we look at protests across Ukraine after President Zelensky signed a new law which critics say weakens the independence of Ukraine’s anti-corruption bodies. Demonstrations in cities across the country became the largest anti-government protests to take place in Ukraine since the Russian invasion in 2022. Adam is joined by Vitaly Shevchenko, Ukrainecast host, and Orysia Lutsevych, head of th...

Today, Sir James Cleverley has returned to the front bench after Conservative Party leader Kemi Badenoch reshuffled her top team. Adam and Chris discuss the changes to the shadow cabinet and whether they will help the Conservatives in the fight for dominance of the right of British politics. Today, their opponents Reform, led by Nigel Farage announced a Tory defection at the Welsh Royal Show. Plus...

Today, the long-awaited review of the water sector in England and Wales has finally been published, and it proposes the most sweeping reforms since privatisation over 30 years ago. Authored by Sir Jon Cunliffe, the report makes 88 recommendations, including scrapping the current regulator, Ofwat, and introducing stronger environmental regulation. Adam and Chris are joined by the BBC’s business edi...

Today, Laura, Paddy and Henry look back at the last parliamentary year with the summer recess on the horizon. How have the main political parties fared a year on since the general election? And which of them would be top of the class in their school report cards? You can watch every episode of Newscast on the YouTube here: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLS3XGZxi7cBU_AtRadnVPJPRC6LHrexaF Yo...

Today, Laura and Paddy ask who in charge of the country as the Prime Minister’s authority is again in question. From backbenchers, to ministers to the markets - who is actually driving this government? Laura and Paddy look to find the answers. You can now listen to Newscast on a smart speaker. If you want to listen, just say "Ask BBC Sounds to play Newscast”. It works on most smart speakers. You c...

Today, the Environment Agency reported a 60% rise in serious pollution incidents by water companies within a year. There were 2,801 pollution incidents in England in 2024, the highest on record, up from 2,174 in 2023. The cross-party Public Accounts Committee called the situation “woeful” and said regulators were “missing in action.” The data comes ahead of a landmark review of the water industry,...

Today, the voting age at the next general election will be lowered across the UK to 16 for the first time. Labour's election manifesto last year pledged to lower the voting age to 16 - in line with Scottish and Welsh elections. The Prime Minister has said 16 and 17-year-olds are "old enough to go out to work, they are old enough to pay taxes". The policy has been criticised by the Conservatives an...

Today, Keir Starmer told the House of Commons the previous government had ‘serious questions’ to answer about a major data breach from the Ministry of Defence. On Tuesday, a major data breach which led to thousands of Afghans being secretly relocated to the UK became public knowledge for the first time. Chris joins Adam to discuss the former government’s account of events, as well as what could ha...

Today, President Trump gives an exclusive interview to the BBC Adam speaks to BBC chief North America correspondent Gary O’Donoghue about his call with President Trump, a year on from the Trump shooting that Gary witnessed. Gary was woken up by a call from President Trump on Monday, where he spoke candidly about whether he trusts Russia’s President Putin. President Trump also spoke about Brexit, h...

Today, we discuss the findings of a BBC report which found that the documentary Gaza: How To Survive a Warzone had breached editorial guidelines. The BBC previously pulled the documentary from iPlayer after it was uncovered that the 13-year-old narrator was the son of a Hamas official. The report says the production company Hoyo Films bears most of the responsibility for the failures. Hoyo Films s...

Today, the chief executive of Ofcom, Dame Melanie Henrietta Dawes sat down with Laura to discuss the Online Safety Act. In just under two weeks time, specific child safety measures, including changes to algorithms to filter out harmful content, will be enforced for a number of different tech platforms and companies. And we find out about the latest development in the upcoming strikes from resident...

Today, the leader of the Unite union says Labour is not defending working people and they are turning away from the party "in droves". Deputy Prime Minister Angela Rayner was yesterday suspended by the union - and Unite’s General Secretary Sharon Graham says Labour should be ‘seriously concerned’ after the union voted to potentially rethink its relationship with the party, which could result in it...