The News Agents

In this bonus episode of The News Agents, Jon and Lewis react to Friday evening's remarkable events in the White House. How will the Trump-Zelenskyy fallout impact the war? How will Keir Starmer react? And will Zelenskyy be forced into a resignation as Ukrainian president? Tickets to The News Agents Live On Stage with HSBC UK are now on sale! You can get your tickets for Edinburgh here: https://ar...

There were smiles, laughs, and a few pats on the shoulder - the mood in the Oval Office felt at times amorous as Keir Starmer and Donald Trump got down to business. The Prime Minister appeared to have defied some of his harshest critics in DC, earning almost fawning praise from the American President and seemingly a series of wins - on tariffs, the Chagos islands, and on Ukraine. But if Donald Tru...

This week on The Sports Agents... The first refugee to win an Olympic medal, Cindy Ngamba , joined Gabby and Mark before her professional boxing debut to talk about her incredible story from a shock arrest to the hilarious moment she discovered boxing (03:00). The story of fleeing Afghanistan and getting no support from cricket's governing body (the ICC) with Afghanistan women's cricketer, Firooza...

If you’ve been charged with people trafficking and rape, entry into the US is normally impossible. But it seems the Trump administration has been instrumental in ‘persuading’ the Romanian authorities to hand back the US passports of Andrew Tate and his brother, Tristan. But why? Why would the US president want to help a man facing the most serious criminal charges - and he is wanted by the authori...

As we record, Zelenskyy is looking through the draft agreement which would give America oil, gas and mineral rights in exchange for…what? The final part of the deal is the bit that's missing. Will America pledge military help? And if not what does Ukraine get back? Later, former Chief Whip Simon Hart describes the utter circus (*shitshow) that surrounded the last few years of Conservative rule. Hi...

On the eve of his trip to Washington, Keir Starmer told the commons that UK defence spending would rise to 2.5 percent within two years. It’s an increase in real money of £13.4 billion. £5 billion of which will come from cutting our foreign aid budget. Is he trying to protect Europe? Or to please Trump? And will it work? Later, does Labour have the right response to the falling birth rate? Why are...

It didn't take long for Germany's new Chancellor in waiting, Friedrich Merz, to make his presence felt across the Atlantic. Before the final ballots had even been counted in the German elections, Merz took to a television debate to warn that "after Donald Trump's remarks last week...it is clear that this government does not care much about the fate of Europe". He called for the EU to work together...

Right now, culture wars seem to punctuate every moment of our daily lives. Politicising more and more and dividing people over issues both big and small. How have culture wars embedded themselves in so deeply in our politics? What if they are part of a wider design to keep the rich powerful? And how damaging have identity politics been for the left? Ash Sarkar sat down with Lewis to discuss these...

This week on The Sports Agents... Mark and Gabby hit the road this week, meeting Formula One drivers at the O2 Arena and travelling to Wigan to chat to the best and possibly most underrated coach in Britain. First up, an exclusive interview with three-time Grand Prix winner George Russell about taking over from Lewis Hamilton as Mercedes lead driver, swearing rules and the moment you know if your...

The backlash against Donald Trump for his diatribe against Volodymyr Zelenskyy has strengthened. Keir Starmer called the Ukrainian President in a show of support and told him it was "perfectly reasonable" to have suspended elections given Russia's invasion. European leaders have also lined up to reject Trump's claims that Zelenskyy is a "dictator" - even Nigel Farage has distanced himself from tha...

Not content with parroting talking points from the Kremlin, Donald Trump has hardened his position on Ukraine even further. Taking to Truth Social, the US president branded Volodymyr Zelenskyy a "dictator without elections" who has done "a terrible job" for his country. He warned his counterpart in Kyiv to "move fast or he is not going to have a country left". Those words will chill European leade...

In the weeks following Donald Trump’s scrapping of diversity, equality and inclusion schemes in government, a number of big-name companies have followed suit rolling back their DEI commitments. So why are so many big companies ditching DEI? And what could this rolling back of DEI policies mean for businesses and workplaces? We speak to Alexandra Mousavizadeh. Later, Gabriel Gatehouse joins us to t...

European leaders are heading to Paris. American negotiators are heading to Saudi. And the News Agents have arrived in Birmingham. It’s our first live show of 2025 and as a broadcasting first we’re joined by some abseiling window cleaners on today’s episode. We discuss Americas unilateral plan for Ukraine. Why has it left Europeans in tears? What can Starmer do with Trump? And are we really going t...

Despite Keir Starmer's long march to Downing Street, there is so much we don't know about our Prime Minister. His media presence, and his Downing Street, is more guarded than the PMs who have preceded him. He has worn many different political personalities on his journey from lawyer, to the House of Commons, to leader of the opposition - he has evolved as his journey to No 10 took shape. What driv...

This week on The Sports Agents... Can the Six Nations learn from the star-studded Super Bowl ? We chat to ex-England rugby union player Ugo Monye (03:30). Could rugby league help the Premier League get VAR right? That's with Phil Bentham , Head of Match Officials at the RFL and former PGMOL VAR coach (10:45). Joe McEwan tells us about suffering a sudden cardiac arrest when playing lacrosse. At jus...

Donald Trump's first stab at a deal on Ukraine appears to have gone very well - for Russia. During a 90 minute phone call with Putin they started to lay out the terms. Including a veto on Ukraine joining NATO and an understanding that Ukraine would never reclaim Crimea. The phone call with Zelensky did not come until afterwards. European leaders are up in arms at being left out of the conversation...

Kemi Badenoch got rebuffed in PMQs by the Prime Minister telling her for the second week in a row she “hadn’t done her homework". Why isn’t she cutting through? Does she need to do more media interviews? Or might her safe space be the kind of podcasts Trump used to secure the 2024 election? Today we ask if that media exists here in the UK and if not, why not? Tickets to The News Agents Live On Sta...

The AI Summit in Paris assumed it would be the centre of tech action today. That was until Elon Musk put in a cheeky (hostile) bid for Sam Altman's OpenAI company, claiming he was owed the money anyway from a previous deal. There is beef between these two tech bros - who both proudly wear Trump's patronage. They previously worked and innovated together on the company that is now Altman's. Can Musk...

Labour has been trying to show how tough it’s getting on immigration - releasing videos of its door to door raids whilst simultaneously putting up Reform turquoise ads on Facebook. The messaging goes to the heart of the Labour conundrum. Should it fight Reform or copy it? Does it need more muscular pushback? Or an acceptance that’s where voters concerns now lie? We discuss with MP Jake Richards. L...

In a time of rising populism, a raging debate around free speech online, and with Donald Trump fixating upon Greenland, Helle Thorning-Schmidt sits in a unique vantage point. Denmark's first female Prime Minister remains one of the most influential social democrats in Europe. And her experiences grappling with the migrant crisis have equipped her with some big ideas on how the left should combat t...

This week on The Sports Agents... A big helping of American sport as we geared up for Sunday's Super Bowl and explained the NBA transfer that broke the internet... Former Super Bowl champion Jason Bell , was in the studio to talk about Patrick Mahomes' G.O.A.T status, The Kansas City Chiefs' attempt at a historic 'Three-Peat' and the 'Taylor Swift Super Bowl conspiracy'? (09:50) Tas Melas , co-hos...

In one fell swoop the Bank of England cut interest rates today and worse, their forecast for growth. They now believe the economy will grow at HALF the rate originally predicted. And the bank is pointing the finger at the Chancellors tax rises in the last budget as the problem. Is Rachel Reeves in trouble? Is the country? And will the Prime Minister stick by her as Chancellor? Later, Kemi Badenoch...

Last night President Trump floated the real estate agent’s vision for Gaza - a riviera in the Middle East, with waterfront property and barely a Palestinian on site. Is he suggesting seizing it? Buying it? Ethnic cleansing? Or a wild card route into diplomacy? We discuss with Layla Moran MP, whose family escaped Gaza last year. Later, is Labour still pursuing the Indian Ocean Chagos deal? And has...

President Trump, or should we say Elon Musk, has turned off the taps on the spending of an entire government department - US AID. Many voters will be happy to see a red line through some of the overseas spending. Other figures, like a hundred million dollars on condoms for Hamas, have been entirely confected. Why is an unelected foreign billionaire deciding what happens to the American taxpayer mo...

Canadians booing the American national anthem at sports matches, shops removing American made products from their shelves...how many enemies is Donald Trump prepared to make with his trade tariffs? The Mexican president and Trump have already agreed to postpone the tariffs by one month following a "good conversation". Is anyone really prepared to fight the bully tactics? Later, Education Secretary...