The News Agents

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.

Should it be a crime to shout "jihad" on the streets of London during a protest to support Palestinian rights? The Home Secretary had a meeting with Met Commissioner Mark Rowley to ask why the police weren't prepared to arrest those seeking to incite "violence or hatred" on Britain's streets. Context is everything of course, and jihad can mean many things. So where does free speech collide with th...

Two massive by-election losses in Tory heartland. Are Rishi Sunak's hopes of holding onto his premiership next year in tatters? They may still win Tamworth and Mid Bedfordshire back in next year's general election, but that doesn't arrest the growing expectation that there is a distinct possibility the Conservatives could soon face electoral annihilation. We speak to Lara Spirit, editor of The Tim...

Just one day after the US president Joe Biden, Prime Minister Rishi Sunak is on the ground in Israel pleading for the lives of British hostages and facing calls from Netanyahu for Britain’s “continuous support “. Rishi like Biden, is walking a fine line. We talk to Shashank Joshi, Defence Editor of The Economist about what's next as Western leaders scramble in the search for de-escalation. And lat...

A deadly inhumane attack on a Gazan hospital by Israeli forces killing hundreds. Or, a failed rocket by Palestinian Islamic Jihad, aimed at Israel, landing accidentally in a hospital car park killing dozens. We are at that inevitable stage of the conflict where truth has become another casualty. How does Biden - who's just landed in Israel - attempt to forge a path of peace through such differing...

The Israeli military has denied that there is a humanitarian crisis in Gaza, but there are now reports of people drinking toilet water to survive. So will Joe Biden's visit tomorrow make any difference in the hope for peace in the middle east, and help accelerate a resolution to the current conflict? And will the Rafah crossing open into Egypt to allow for food and medical supplies into Gaza, 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.

Over the weekend, Palestinian flags flooded central London as thousands marched for 'Free Palestine'. But has legitimate support for the rights of Palestinian citizens been merged with more sinister support, or acquiescence of, the presence of Hamas, a deeply illiberal, misogynistic, homophobic and anti-semitic terrorist organisation, in Gaza and the Palestinian territories? And as Israel starts t...

Israeli officials have told Gazan citizens to leave the north and head south ahead of a potential ground invasion - retaliating after a week of war crimes perpetrated by Hamas on Israeli soil. 1.1million people - the number of people roughly in Birmingham, trekking largely on foot, down one of two roads, in the middle of a war. Is that possible? Most think not. Are many, many thousands of Palestin...

There are an estimated 150 hostages in Gaza - all ages, all nationalities, some taken from their beds as they slept. How does Israel even begin to contemplate ground war when so many of its people are the other side of that border? And how do you begin to negotiate with terrorists when they've broken every rule of war with the sheer evil of their acts? We speak to an expert in hostage negotiation...

Keir Starmer was asked live on LBC how far he'd be prepared to see Israel go in response to Hamas. Would he support a blockade? A siege of Gaza? And that's where the questions get tough. Israel has the world's sympathies right now - but no one wants to see this escalated into an existential middle east war. Who is prepared to say so? And later, we talk about the new BBC drama about Jimmy Savile an...

The News Agents at the Labour Party Conference: Day 2 If Sir Keir Starmer was looking for a bit of sparkle today in his Leader's speech he shouldn’t have worried: it came to find him in the shape of a glitter-throwing protestor before he’d had the chance to say a word. Undeterred, he took to shirt sleeves and spelled out a working class mantra of aspiration and renewal for a country on its knees....

Emily and Jon host a weekly 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.

The News Agents at the Labour Party Conference: Day 1 The Shadow Chancellor Rachel Reeves joins The News Agents following her speech in Liverpool. We discuss her plans to tax tech firms, her unwillingness to tax the rich and the Labour members carrying Palestinian flags outside the conference centre. We also talk about the war that has begun formally today in Israel, after Hamas carried out a seri...

In the biggest story of the past week - a flagship, important, party conference week for the Prime Minister, he announced the scrapping of the biggest infrastructure project in Britain in a decade. A project that many saw key to levelling up the north of the country. But, is 'scrapping' it even that easy, that possible? And what's to say what they've promised in its place will come to fruition? We...

The Tory conference is over, but the next one - Labour - looms large. What will Sir Keir Starmer do with the new look rail plans? Will they resurrect HS2 or get into line behind Sunak's plans? And whilst the mood of the country may demand change, how confident is Labour or bringing them on side? Editor: Tom Hughes Senior Producer: Gabriel Radus Producer: Laura FitzPatrick Planning Producer: Alex B...

Rishi Sunak was on his feet in a speech that was frankly too long. It ripped up HS2 and replaced it with a nebulous Northern Network pledge. It promised to rethink A levels and ban young people from smoking. There was nothing on housing, energy, social care , the environment - it felt, indeed, like the end of the road. Has he convinced anyone he is the future ? And what will Labour do with the can...

Emily and Jon host a weekly 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.

The News Agents at the Conservative Party Conference: Day 2 What does Conservatism look like in 2023? At their party conference in Manchester this year, the right of the party are being very vocal about redefining how their party looks. We hear from the politican whose drawn the biggest crowds at the event this year... not a government monster but former UKIP leader, Nigel Farage. And the PM still...

The News Agents at the Conservative Party Conference: Day 1 The queue to see the former PM stretched right the way through the Midland Hotel in Manchester. And it wasn’t to see her apologise for the chaos she caused to the economy a year ago. No, these are die hard Trussites. They love her, hate taxes and want to rip up regulation. She’s the most popular politician here - and that’s a headache for...

Northern France is full of the ghosts of British history. Today it haunts our present. The News Agents went undercover and spoke directly to a people smuggler - who traffics asylum seekers across the Channel in small boats for thousands of pounds a traveller. Lewis reports from the beaches of Dunkirk. Field Producer & Newsgathering Producer: Rory Symon Editor: Gabriel Radus Executive Editor: T...

Michael Heseltine is a politician with a long political memory. He heard Neville Chamberlain declare war on Germany in 1939. He saw Suez unfold. He attended Churchill’s funeral. He’s served Conservative prime minister after Conservative prime minister and became the man who eventually even brought down Margaret Thatcher. He never reached the highest office himself, but having seen so many who did...

Rishi Sunak has refused to answer whether his government is set to scrap the Northern leg of HS2 between Birmingham and Manchester. The indecision is already creating division within the Conservative Party ahead of the party conference next week. So today we ask whether Rishi Sunak really cares about the north of England. And we look at the latest "flip-flop" from Labour leader Keir Starmer. Edito...

 Emily and Jon host a weekly 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.

Laurence Fox's weird sexist rant last night on GB News got short shrift from the organisation which immediately suspended him from the platform, and followed on later by suspending their presenter, Dan Wootton. But GB news has still got plenty of presenters on its books who spout conspiracy, confect outrage, and misinform. This didnt come from nowhere - so why is everyone suddenly arguing this is...