Newscast

Sima Kotecha is sitting in for Adam while he’s on his holiday… and where Sima goes, her mum often follows. She’s realised that the war in Ukraine is having an impact on supply chains, in particular sunflower oil. Gary Lewis, the president of the National Edible Oil Distributors’ Association explains what’s happening. Actor Siobhán McSweeney, also known as Sister Michael from Channel 4’s Derry Girl...

Government launches its nuclear and wind energy plans... Secunder Kermani hosts today's Newscast. He's joined by the BBC's Alex Forsyth and Emma Pinchbeck, boss of the energy industry’s trade body, to pore over the details.   Meanwhile, there's political chaos in Pakistan (where Secunder is based right now). The Wall Street Journal’s Saeed Shah explains what's been going on. Today’s Newscast was m...

Ed Sheeran wins Shape of You copyright case... Sinéad Garvan, entertainment reporter, and Dr Hayleigh Bosher, an intellectual property expert, chat it all through with Alex Forsyth. What could the judgement mean for the music industry? And, from today employers and employees will start paying more National Insurance to help fund the NHS and social care. We're joined by the director of the Institut...

Covid causes more travel chaos... With Easter getaways disrupted for people up and down the country, Steffan Powell (who's sitting in for Adam on today's episode) and medical editor, Fergus Walsh, talk through the latest Covid developments.   And, as the Environment Agency teams up with the makers of the video game Minecraft, Miles Jacobson, creator of the Football Manager game, explains the roles...

We mark the death of EastEnders legend June Brown, who played Dot Cotton. She was 95. In its latest report, the UN’s Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change says we need to cut emissions immediately and use technology to suck CO2 from the atmosphere. One of the authors, Gregory Nemet, tells Lewis Goodall that there’s reason to be optimistic. And, as the cost of living continues to rise, we hear...

Celebrating 50 years of Newsround... Adam chats through some of the highs (and lows) of the programme with his fellow ex-presenters, Julie Etchingham and Krishnan Guru-Murthy, as well as current presenter, De’Graft Mensah. And we talk energy bills with the BBC's Simon Jack and Claer Barrett, Consumer Editor at the Financial Times... Today’s Newscast was made by Cordelia Hemming, Chris Flynn and Be...

The Chancellor Rishi Sunak talks inflation, energy prices, taxes… and Will Smith. In Laura's last interview as the BBC's political editor, the chancellor defends his Spring Statement and says being popular is not his priority. He also likens his difficult week to Hollywood star Will Smith's after his wife received unwanted attention. This edition of Newscast was made by Danny Wittenberg, John Murp...

A review into the maternity practices at Shrewsbury and Telford NHS Trust by senior midwife, Donna Ockenden, has found that catastrophic failures may have led to the deaths of more than 200 babies, nine mothers and left other infants with life-changing injuries. Adam discusses the report and its consequences with Newsnight’s Sima Kotecha and Shaun Lintern, health editor at the Sunday Times. Also,...

Police say they’re issuing 20 fines over No 10 lockdown parties, but will this put the PM under renewed political pressure? Adam is joined by Laura and the BBC’s Daniel Sandford to chew over what we know so far. Also… Will Smith’s Oscars slap apology is deconstructed by Lux Alptraum, who has studied the art of saying sorry. And a report says Jackie Weaver did NOT actually have the authority. We ge...

Controversy at the Oscars as Will Smith hits Chris Rock… Adam is joined by the BBC’s Culture Editor Katie Razzall and LA-based entertainment reporter KJ Matthews to discuss the background to the slap - and the possible repercussions. Also… the UK ambassador to Ukraine Melinda Simmons – currently in Warsaw - talks Biden, getting out of Kyiv and her own Ukrainian background. This edition of Newscast...

The US President wraps up his trip to Europe, but is he taking the lead on Ukraine? The BBC’s North America editor, Sarah Smith, who has been travelling with the US Commander-in-Chief on Air Force One, and Europe Editor, Katya Adler, drop by to chew over the transatlantic approach to the crisis. Also… amid a growing feeling of global instability, Adam speaks to historian, philosopher, and best-sel...

Rishi Sunak has been accused of doing too little to help people struggling to feed their families and heat their homes, following Wednesday’s Spring Statement. Laura and Chris are joined by economists Miatta Fahnbulleh, who has advised three prime ministers, and Rupert Harrison, who was George Osborne’s chief of staff, to chew over the chancellor’s announcement. Could he have done more? Should he...

Spring is in the air… along with inflation and a rise in the cost of living. The Chancellor, Rishi Sunak, unveiled his Spring Statement today against a backdrop of rising inflation at home, and economic uncertainty abroad amid the Ukraine crisis. To help pore over the pennies, percentages and decimal points in the Chancellor’s plans, Adam is joined by Laura, the BBC’s Evan Davis and Gareth McNab f...

There’s a heatwave in the North Pole (and the South Pole)… Adam chats to the BBC’s Climate Editor, Justin Rowlatt, and Dr Bethan Davies, a glacial geologist, about what it all means. Simon Shuster, from TIME Magazine, tells us what it's like interviewing the Putin-critic, Alexei Navalny, after he was given nine years in a penal colony in Russia. On “Spring Statement Eve” Chris pops on the pod to e...

As the crisis deepens in Ukraine and the West seeks to wean itself off Russian oil and gas, Adam takes a deep dive with Russia analyst Angela Stent, and her husband Daniel Yergin, a global energy expert. The couple are also put through Newscast’s Mr and Mrs quiz. Nazanin Zaghari-Radcliffe has spoken publicly for the first time, saying her case could have been resolved six years ago. And Jonathan V...

Did P&O break the law when they sacked 800 staff? We chat to Kathryn Evans, an employment lawyer, to find out...   The US and Chinese Presidents have been talking about Ukraine. North America editor, Sarah Smith, makes her Newscast debut and explains what's what...   And the BBC's Fergal Keane is in Lviv in Ukraine, where a factory has been hit by an airstrike. We get the latest. This edition...

P&O Ferries has caused outrage after sacking 800 workers via a recorded video message. The company plans to replace them with cheaper agency workers. Chris gets the latest from the BBC’s Danny Savage in Hull, where a P&O crew had been refusing to leave their ship. Covid infection rates have been increasing rapidly across the UK – one of the people to catch the virus is Adam. GP Ellie Canno...

As the daily pod turns two, we’re still wrestling with Covid. Self-isolating at home following a positive lateral flow test, Adam - along with the BBC’s James Gallagher in the studio - reflects on that televised Downing Street briefing two years ago to the day, when it became clear that our lives would never be the same again. Also, Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe, the British-Iranian aid worker detaine...

Boris Johnson heads to Saudi to talk oil supply... Adam is joined by Laura and oil-expert, Prof Karen Turner, to discuss the trip and unpick the government’s energy strategy. The BBC’s correspondent in Moscow, Carrie Davies, is outside the court where Russian journalist, Marina Ovsyannikova, was fined and released after protesting against the invasion of Ukraine on TV. And, as concern in China gro...

Levelling Up Secretary, Michael Gove, has unveiled the government’s new “Homes for Ukraine” refugee scheme. Adam is joined by the BBC’s Mark Easton and prospective host, hotel manager Charlie Green to chew over how it will work. We ask the UK’s Permanent Representative to the United Nations, Dame Barbara Woodward, what it’s like facing the Russians at the Security Council and what role China has t...

Taking the next train out of Ukraine... We speak to the BBC’s Fergal Keane in Lviv, where he’s been speaking to Ukrainians fleeing to Poland. Writer and podcaster, Jon Ronson, joins Adam and the BBC’s Marianna Spring to talk about culture wars and misinformation in Ukraine And broadcasting (and election-graphics) legend, Jeremy Vine, gives us his verdict on South Korea’s presidential election cove...

As talks between Russia and Ukraine fail again, the human toll of the war is escalating. Laura, Chris and Adam are joined by Gabriel Gatehouse of Ukrainecast, to discuss the latest developments in both countries, and try to work out what President Putin and his small circle of “strongmen” are thinking. The BBC’s diplomatic correspondent James Landale is in Turkey, where that meeting between Russia...

Ordinary Russians are beginning to notice a difference in their daily lives as Western companies halt business in the country following the invasion of Ukraine. BBC Moscow correspondent Steve Rosenberg tells Adam what life is like in the city as sanctions begin to bite. Meanwhile… with the foreign ministers of Russia and Ukraine set to meet in Turkey, the BBC’s James Landale analyses what’s at sta...

McDonald’s joins the growing list of companies halting business in Russia, as Boris Johnson announces that the UK will phase out Russian oil imports. Adam discusses the ramifications with Bloomberg’s Stephanie Flanders and the BBC’s James Landale. And on the day that Ukrainian President Zelensky gives an historic address to the House of Commons, a report brands former speaker John Bercow “a serial...

As oil and gas prices soar, can European countries wean themselves off Russian energy supplies? Boris Johnson has been meeting the Canadian and Dutch prime ministers to talk about more sanctions against Russia and what to do about many European nations’ dependence on Russian hydrocarbons. Adam, Laura and the BBC’s Simon Jack discuss the difficult politics and economics facing western leaders. Also...