The News Meeting

What should lead the news? Three people pitch the story they think matters most to Tortoise editor-in-chief James Harding. Last week Jess Phillips was one of eight Labour MPs who quit as a shadow minister to vote for a ceasefire in Gaza. In this episode she joins the Tortoise team to talk about her decision to resign and how serious the divide is within her party. They also discuss Sam Altman’s fi...

What should lead the news? Three people pitch the story they think matters most to Tortoise editor-in-chief James Harding. He’s joined by political editor Cat Neilan, news editor Jess Winch and climate editor Jeevan Vasagar to make sense of a busy week in British politics, Israel’s raid on Al-Shifa hospital and whether water should be traded like a commodity. What do you think should lead the news...

Former cabinet minister and author of ‘Politics on the Edge’, Rory Stewart, talks to Tortoise’s editor-in-chief James Harding about his political career, Westminster’s dysfunction and what he might do next. James asks why Rory hasn’t joined the Labour party, why working in Westminster is so difficult and the future of the centre ground. You can hear what Rory thinks about David Cameron becoming th...

What should lead the news? Three people pitch the story they think matters most to Tortoise editor-in-chief James Harding. Rishi Sunak has sacked his home secretary and appointed a former prime minister as foreign secretary. Rory Stewart, former cabinet minister and author of ‘Politics on the Edge’, joins the Tortoise team to discuss that and the situation at Gaza’s Al-Shifa hospital. You can list...

LBC presenter James O’Brien talks to Tortoise’s editor-in-chief James Harding about the people who he thinks broke Britain, why there aren’t any rules anymore and his approach to journalism. James Harding also takes issue with some of the people he includes in his new book, ‘How They Broke Britain’, and asks how his experience presenting Newsnight affected how he thinks about balance and impartial...

What should lead the news? Three people pitch the story they think matters most to Tortoise editor-in-chief James Harding. James O’Brien, LBC presenter and author of ‘How They Broke Britain’, joins the Tortoise team to discuss Suella Braverman’s attack on the police, a topsy-turvy week in US politics and Shell taking Greenpeace to court. You can listen to a longer conversation between James O’Brie...

What should lead the news? Three people pitch the story they think matters most to Tortoise editor-in-chief James Harding. He’s joined by Ian Goldin, professor of Globalisation and Development at Oxford University, and Tortoise editors Basia Cummings and Giles Whittell. They discuss the pro-Palestinian protests in the UK, Sam Bankman-Fried’s conviction and attitudes towards immigration. Listen to...

What should lead the news? Three people pitch the story they think matters most to Tortoise editor-in-chief James Harding. He’s joined by Katy Searle, who was executive editor of BBC Politics, and Tortoise editors Chloe Hadjimatheou and Jeevan Vasagar. They discuss what’s been happening at the Covid inquiry, Israel’s response to the Hamas attack and what, if anything, Rishi Sunak achieved at his A...

What should lead the news? Three people pitch the story they think matters most to Basia Cummings. She’s joined by Hashi Mohamed, Ceri Thomas and Giles Whittell to discuss what happened at Makhachkala airport, new House Speaker Mike Johnson and what the new Levelling Up Act means for house building. What do you think should lead the news? Email your stories to newsmeeting@tortoisemedia.com . The p...

What should lead the news? Times columnist Matt Chorley pitches his story and talks about his new book. He joins Tortoise editors Giles Whittell, Cat Neilan and Jeevan Vasagar to discuss Saudi Arabia’s role in the Middle East, Keir Starmer’s position on Israel-Gaza and bankers bonuses. They also look ahead to the general election. It was recorded in front of an audience in the Tortoise newsroom. M...

What should lead the news? As Israel prepares to enter Gaza, former BBC Middle East correspondent Paul Wood explains why the ground offensive hasn’t started yet and how Israel is approaching this war. Plus political editor Cat Neilan on Labour’s by-election victories and climate editor Jeevan Vasagar explains why we should care about the Italian prime minister’s private life. What do you think sho...

After Joe Biden announced an aid deal for Gaza, the question of the role and limits of diplomacy hangs over the Middle East. James Harding is joined by Lina Khatib, director of the Middle East Institute at SOAS, former US ambassador Matthew Barzun and Tortoise’s Jess Winch. They also explore how a newsroom decides when it’s time to start leading on stories that aren’t about the war between Israel...

James Harding is joined from Jerusalem by journalist Noga Tarnopolsky and hears from Yousef Hammash, the Norwegian Refugee Council’s advocacy officer in Gaza. Basia Cummings discusses the weekend’s election in Poland that could see the right-wing populist Law and Justice party ousted from office and Giles Whittell has a theory about Elon Musk. They also hear from a News Meeting listener in Melbour...

James Harding, Tortoise editor-in-chief and former director of BBC News criticises the BBC’s policy to not call Hamas terrorists. In this episode Lawrence Freedman, emeritus professor of war studies at KCL, and Shaina Low from the Norwegian Refugee Council join the team to discuss Benjamin Netanyahu’s response to the Hamas attack and the situation in Gaza. James Harding, Tortoise editor-in-chief a...

Israel’s prime minister Binyamin Netanyahu has declared war on Hamas after the military group launched an attack from Gaza, killing hundreds of civilians and taking hostages. Israel has struck back and ordered a ‘complete siege’ of the enclave. In this special episode James Harding is joined by political scientist Yascha Mounk, Basia Cummings and Giles Whittell to make sense of the Hamas attack an...

What should lead the news? Three people pitch the story they think matters most to James Harding. In this episode he’s joined by BBC News and Mastermind presenter Clive Myrie, Jess Winch and Jeevan Vasagar to discuss HS2, whether we’re covering migration stories properly and the case of soldier Jaysley Beck, who took her own life after relentless sexual harassment by one of her bosses. What do you...

What should lead the news? Three people pitch the story they think matters most to Basia Cummings. In this episode she is joined by Tortoise political editor Cat Neilan, deputy editor Giles Whittell and barrister Hashi Mohamed. They discuss what’s happening at Conservative party conference, water companies wanting to put up bills and the victory of a pro-Russia party in Slovakia. What do you think...

What should lead the news? Three people pitch the story they think matters most to Giles Whittell. In this episode he’s joined by comedian Andy Hamilton and Tortoise editors Basia Cummings and Jess Winch to discuss Suella Braverman’s speech about migration, the Portuguese young people taking countries to court and why we’re taking more sick days. It was recorded in front of an audience in the Tort...

What should lead the news? Three people pitch the story they think matters most to Giles Whittell. In this episode he’s joined by Basia Cummings, Alexi Mostrous and Rachel Wolf from the new Tortoise podcast Trendy to discuss reported plans to scrap part of HS2, Osiris-Rex returning samples from an asteroid and Adidas’s new super-shoe. What do you think should lead the news? Email your stories to n...

What should lead the news? Three people pitch the story they think matters most to James Harding. In this episode he’s joined by Steven Pinker, Harvard professor and author of Enlightenment Now, who criticises the news machine. Plus the team discusses whether Prince William reached a secret out of court settlement with Rupert Murdoch and News Group over phone hacking and Canada’s diplomatic row wi...

What should lead the news? Three people pitch the story they think matters most to Basia Cummings. In this episode she’s joined by Giles Whittell, Jeevan Vasagar and Coco Khan from Pod Save The UK to discuss the accusations against Russell Brand, flooding in Libya and the American XL bully ban. What do you think should lead the news? Email your stories to newsmeeting@tortoisemedia.com . For more f...

What should lead the news? Three people pitch the story they think matters most to Tortoise editor James Harding. In this episode he’s joined by former Bank of England chief economist Andy Haldane who offers his assessment of the UK economy. Cat Neilan and Jeevan Vasagar discuss Keir Starmer beginning to set out his stall in two Murdoch-owned papers and Bernard Looney's resignation from BP. &...

What should lead the news? Three people pitch the story they think matters most to Tortoise editor James Harding. In this episode he’s joined by Tortoise editors Jess Winch and Jeevan Vasagar, and The Critic’s parliamentary sketchwriter Robert Hutton. They discuss the researcher arrested over alleged spying for China, Woking council cutting services and efforts to reduce global warming. What do yo...

What should lead the news? Three people pitch the story they think matters most to Tortoise editor James Harding. In this episode he’s joined by Tortoise editors Giles Whittell and Keith Blackmore, and special guest, world news broadcaster Yalda Hakim. They discuss new music from The Rolling Stones, the difference between Melania Trump and Olena Zelenska, and Toyota’s plans to build fuel cell...

In this special episode of The News Meeting, James Harding is joined by Merope Mills, the mother of 13-year-old Martha who died unnecessarily from sepsis, and Polly Curtis from Demos, who are campaigning for “Martha’s rule” - the right to call for a second opinion - to understand how to make the change happen. You can listen to Merope Mills speaking with Mishal Husain on BBC Radio 4’s Today Progra...