The News Agents

The head of the army - General Sir Patrick Sanders - has said the UK needs to train and equip a citizen army to be on the front door for any future war with Russia. The PM has hastily ruled out conscription but on today's episode, we consider whether the era of peace is over. And ask what we are prepared to do if the threats deepen. Later, election denier Trump has talked up a purge of bureaucrats...

The week started with Lucy Frazer, the Culture Secretary calling out the BBC for bias and a failure of impartiality. She struggled to give many examples of either. Today, Prospect magazine has done a deep dive into what it calls ‘the right-wing cabal waging war on the principles of our public broadcaster‘. Is the BBC in thrall to the government? Or is it another institution the government is fight...

Today we hear from Ziv, who was at the Nova music festival and saw her friends die. Her boyfriend is a hostage. And from Eli whose 18 year old daughter Liri is being held by Hamas. And we ask the Israeli government why they’re so convinced their plan is working. The Israeli government insists their war against Hamas is working. But there are 130 Israeli hostages still in Gaza, and many many thousa...

PSA: If you want all the latest on the departure Ron de Santis and the Republican Presidential primary race we have a full bonus episode for you on The News Agents: USA. Find it here. Keir Starmer has accused the Conservative Party of 'desperate, divisive and damaging' politics by picking fights with British instutitions like the National Trust and the RNLI. The Labour leader has previously stayed...

2024 is still young but from Gaza to Ukraine to Pakistan, somewhere new is seemingly pulled into the mire of geopolitical clashes what seems like every day. In an extended interview, Lewis asks Lord David Owen - Britain's oldest foreign secretary - about the state of the world and where we fit in. And, ahead of an election that could see Labour and Lib Dems play a prominent role in the balance of...

Rishi won his Rwanda bill as the rebels all but melted away. But how much of a victory is it - and can he convince the Lords to leave it alone? The former deputy prime minister is having trouble finding Rwanda. And the former Deputy Chair is unhappy with Labour sniggling(?) at him. Rishi's poll position just got worse. Later, we look at the issue raising alarm bells for the medical community. As t...

After a couple of dramatic resignations last night from Tory rebels, the government appears fairly confident it CAN get it's Rwanda bill through the commons. But at what cost? Rishi has had to fight both flanks of his party. And those on his right are increasingly sounding like they're prepared to sack off the ol' rule of law to stop judges getting in the way of Rwanda flights taking off. Is the g...

60 Tory rebels are currently off signing amendments to Rishi Sunak's Rwanda bill including - checks notes - his two deputy chairmen who are on the government payroll. What message does this send out? And why havent they resigned their posts if they cannot even back their Prime Minister? Rishi is trying to fend off ANY amendment but he is - checks notes again - in the process of hiring extra lawyer...

Emily and Jon host a weekly US politics podcast in the run-up to the 2024 US presidential election; giving you everything you need to know about the world of US politics and how it affects you. Episodes are available every Tuesday, on Global Player. Find the latest episode of News Agents USA here  on Global Player.

A mystery is afoot: in a critical week for the Government's Rwanda policy - with a looming Commons vote in 24 hours - a YouGov poll has emerged which spells Tory election disaster for Rishi. Look closely and you see that the poll started on December 12th - the same day the Rwanda policy last went through the Commons. Could it be the two are in fact related? In other words, are senior conservatives...

The war in Gaza has escalated. The UK, US and allies have attacked Houthi militia in Yemen, who themselves have been attacking Western shipping routes in the Red Sea. Meanwhile, on Thursday South Africa took Israel to court, in the ICJ, the International Court of Justice in The Hague. They contend that Israel is committing acts of genocide in Gaza. Israel denies the claims. In this episode Lewis a...

Chris Christie - the only Republican candidate to publically call out Trump’s flaws - has pulled out of the presidential race. Does his departure open the door to Nikki Haley - to beat Trump to the Republican nomination? If she wins the New Hampshire primary in ten days time then all bets are off. Last night saw a cantankerous debate between the two candidates left in the race - whilst Trump was A...

The wrongly convicted Post Office victims have waited up to twenty years to have their prosecutions cancelled. Today, in one swift sentence, the Prime Minister declared them null and void. An initial payout will be made to each of 75 thousand pounds - a drop in the ocean for many of those who've lost livelihoods, homes and jobs. But it is at least a start. Why did the solutions suddenly come so th...

One of Jeffrey Epstein's alleged trafficking victims has stood by her claim that sex tapes exist of Prince Andrew and Bill Clinton on Little St James Island, and has painted a lurid picture of Donald Trump's sexual activities. Sarah Ransome - who was in her twenties at the time - had accused Epstein of filming guests on his island in compromising situations, only to then withdraw her testimony and...

Emily and Jon host a weekly US politics podcast; giving you everything you need to know about the world of US politics and how it affects you. Episodes are available every Tuesday, on Global Player. Find the latest episode of News Agents USA here on Global Player.

Why are more than 700 postmasters still trying to clear their names and access even the most basic compensation more than two decades after they were falsely accused of theft? On today's episode Adeep Sethi tells us how his family warned the Post Office in 2002 about Horizon's problems - he has the proof in a newspaper article. Twenty two years on, and torn apart, they are still fighting for justi...

What's next for Ukraine and Russia? For Israel and Gaza? As tensions expand and inflame in the vital trading channel of the Red Sea and Russia continues to bombard Ukrainian cities, what is next for both regions? Editor: Tom Hughes Senior Producer: Gabriel Radus Producer: Laura FitzPatrick Social Media Editor: Georgia Foxwell Video Production: Rory Symon & Shane Fennelly You can listen to this...

The Prime Minister has pretty much ruled out a May election. He said today that he is "working on the assumption" that the General Election will be in the second half of the year... but he is yet to nail down an exact date. We discuss why he's holding out, the possible dates to put in your diary and how that could cross over with the US Presidential election in November. And later, the Labour lead...

It's 2024. (Almost certainly) election year. Parties are in election mode and the pressure is on the PM to demystify when he will call the public to the polls. When will he? Why would earlier or later suit him? And will any date change the Tories' stuttering chances? Editor: Tom Hughes Senior Producer: Gabriel Radus Producer: Laura FitzPatrick Social Media Editor: Georgia Foxwell Video Production:...

In part two of their end of year review, Jon, Emily and Lewis look back on the news from the months of July to December. Editor: Tom Hughes Senior Producer: Gabriel Radus Producer: Laura FitzPatrick Social Media Editor: Georgia Foxwell Video Production: Arvind Badewal & Shane Fennelly You can listen to this episode on Alexa - just say "Alexa, ask Global Player to play The News Agents". The New...

In part one of their end of year review, Jon, Emily and Lewis look back on the news from the months of January to June. Editor: Tom Hughes Senior Producer: Gabriel Radus Producer: Laura FitzPatrick Social Media Editor: Georgia Foxwell Video Production: Arvind Badewal & Shane Fennelly You can listen to this episode on Alexa - just say "Alexa, ask Global Player to play The News Agents". The News...

Your questions answered in a (very merry) Christmas Q&A special with Jon, Emily and Lewis. Editor: Tom Hughes Senior Producer: Gabriel Radus Producer: Laura FitzPatrick Social Media Editor: Georgia Foxwell Video Production: Arvind Badewal & Shane Fennelly You can listen to this episode on Alexa - just say "Alexa, ask Global Player to play The News Agents". The News Agents is brought to you...

75% of democracies in the world go to the polls next year. It's a year of enormous significance - not just for the US and for the UK, but for massive geopolitical bodies - South Africa, India, Russia etc. Where will we be come this time next year? Lewis (mostly) talks to those that know the regions best. Editor & birthday boy: Tom Hughes Senior Producer & special correspondent: Gabriel Rad...

Macron relents to the far-right and introduces tough immigration laws into multicultural France. What does this mean for the right-wing Marine Le Pen's hopes of being president - and for a country whose history is so interlinked with migration? Our new Health Secretary calls junior doctors 'doctors-in-waiting' - is that the best way to end a new flurry of strikes that could further cripple our lim...

The Supreme Court of Colorado has used an arcane section of the 14th Amendment of the US constitution to disqualify Donald Trump from standing for president, on the grounds of the part he played in mounting an insurrection against the state. It’s got to be a good thing, generally, if insurrectionists aren’t allowed to stand for high office. But the judgement raises critical questions about the pow...