The News Agents

Latest Episodes:

Could Elon Musk buy a UK election? Dec 03, 2024

Show notes

Elon Musk is reported to be weighing up a 100 million dollar donation to Nigel Farage to help him become Prime Minister. Farage has played it down but conceded that Musk does like his style. Is there a world in which this could actually happen? And could this be an issue which brings the mainstream parties together - united by a common threat? (Nigel Farage clip courtesy of GB News).

And as South Korea's president declares an emergency, martial law and puts media outlets under government control we reflect on 2024's ability to still pack in those political punches.

Tickets to The News Agents Live On Stage with HSBC UK are now on sale! You can get your tickets for Birmingham, Manchester and Edinburgh here: https://articles.globalplayer.com/7giHoMavXLgdrd6gaC3GxWG7T8

Editor: Tom Hughes

Executive Producer: Louis Degenhardt

Producer: Natalie Indge

Digital Editor: Michaela Walters

Social Media Editor: Georgia Foxwell

Video Production: Rory Symon, Shane Fennelly & Arvind Badewal

Digital Journalists: Michael Baggs & Jacob Paul

You can watch Lewis's special report on the abortion crisis in Florida here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=df5BCL0ocFE

Don’t forget you can also subscribe to our other News Agents podcasts via the link below:

https://linktr.ee/thenewsagents

The News Agents USA now have merch! Click here to buy yours now: https://store.global.com/collections/the-news-agents-usa

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 by HSBC UK - https://www.hsbc.co.uk/

Gregg Wallace, the BBC and the MeToo movement Dec 02, 2024

Show notes

Masterchef presenter Gregg Wallace has just issued an apology for 'any offence caused' after he blamed middle class women for coming forward to complain about his over sexualised banter in the work place. Just to be clear, that's not an apology for the sex stuff. Just for the instagram post. He also told us he felt 'under siege' for just being Gregg on Masterchef. What does this episode tell us about victim blaming and victimisation, about work places that profess 'zero tolerance', and about the health of the Me Too movement more than a decade after it all began.

Later, Biden has decided to pardon his son Hunter to spare him prison. Has he opened himself to ridicule and charges of hypocrisy? Or revealed how little faith he has in the fairness of the justice system under Trump.

Voicenotes from contributors in this episode were voiced by producers.

Editor: Tom Hughes

Executive Producer: Louis Degenhardt

Producer: Natalie Indge

Digital Editor: Michaela Walters

Social Media Editor: Georgia Foxwell

Video Production: Rory Symon, Shane Fennelly & Arvind Badewal

Digital Journalists: Michael Baggs & Jacob Paul

You can watch Lewis's special report on the abortion crisis in Florida here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=df5BCL0ocFE

Don’t forget you can also subscribe to our other News Agents podcasts via the link below:

https://linktr.ee/thenewsagents

The News Agents USA now have merch! Click here to buy yours now: https://store.global.com/collections/the-news-agents-usa

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 by HSBC UK - https://www.hsbc.co.uk/

Weekend Edition - The Sports Agents Nov 30, 2024

Show notes

The week on The Sports Agents...

Gabby and Mark Pougatch play darts with the world's best, teenage superstar Luke Littler and world number one Luke Humphries (3:49).

Do they act like rivals or friends? How's it been for Littler becoming famous so young and so quickly? And what darts tips can they give us?

Lawyer to the likes of David Beckham and Alex Ferguson, Nick Freeman, aka 'Mr Loophole', joined us (11:01) to tell some entertaining stories from court and discuss whether high-profile stars have it easier than others.

Liverpool could lose their star player Mo Salah in the summer, as well as captain Virgil van Dijk and Trent Alexander-Arnold. We ask Paul Machin, founder of The Redmen TV, if alarm bells are ringing and what price the club should pay to keep them (16:59).

And Mark's favourite golfer, Bryson DeChambeau, hits a hole in one... over a house! Could this set off a new trend in golf and beyond? (21:08)

Got a question for The Sports Agents - email us at thesportsagents@global.com

New episodes every Tuesday and Thursday.

History in Parliament: MPs say YES to assisted dying Nov 29, 2024

Show notes

When the vote in the Commons came back, you could have heard a pin drop. In the end, after hours of often compelling, personal and emotional debate the result was conclusive. 330 MPs voted to pass the assisted dying bill on to the next stage. 275 voted against. But there was no whooping or cheering when the result came through - just a defeating silence as the chamber grapples with what a huge social shift this could now mean to the country.

Editor: Tom Hughes

Executive Producer: Louis Degenhardt

Producer: Natalie Indge

Digital Editor: Michaela Walters

Social Media Editor: Georgia Foxwell

Video Production: Rory Symon, Shane Fennelly & Arvind Badewal

Digital Journalists: Michael Baggs & Jacob Paul

You can watch Lewis's special report on the abortion crisis in Florida here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=df5BCL0ocFE

Don’t forget you can also subscribe to our other News Agents podcasts via the link below:

https://linktr.ee/thenewsagents

The News Agents USA now have merch! Click here to buy yours now: https://store.global.com/collections/the-news-agents-usa

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 by HSBC UK - https://www.hsbc.co.uk/

Net migration: Is it really out of control? Nov 28, 2024

Show notes

Net migration figures hit more than 900,000 in the year up to June 2023. And fell by 20 percent this year, down to 730,000. It was only a decade ago that Prime Minister David Cameron was talking about bringing immigration into the "tens of thousands". So, where did things go so badly wrong? And why after the Brexit referendum and the pledge to 'Take Back Control' did Boris Johnson's administration see immigration rise to a million people?

Today we ask new Labour MP, Jake Richardson - who has Reform snapping at his heels - what the Labour plan is? And if the government is prepared to issue fewer student visas if that brings the core number down?

Later, Mark Zuckerberg banned Donald Trump from Facebook after the January 6th riots. Now they're dining together in Mar a Lago. How is American business recalibrating in preparation for a second Trump term?

Editor: Tom Hughes

Executive Producer: Louis Degenhardt

Producer: Natalie Indge

Digital Editor: Michaela Walters

Social Media Editor: Georgia Foxwell

Video Production: Rory Symon, Shane Fennelly & Arvind Badewal

Digital Journalists: Michael Baggs & Jacob Paul

You can watch Lewis's special report on the abortion crisis in Florida here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=df5BCL0ocFE

Don’t forget you can also subscribe to our other News Agents podcasts via the link below:

https://linktr.ee/thenewsagents

The News Agents USA now have merch! Click here to buy yours now: https://store.global.com/collections/the-news-agents-usa

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 by HSBC UK - https://www.hsbc.co.uk/

A matter of life and death Nov 27, 2024

Show notes

The assisted dying bill goes before MPs on Friday. If it goes through it will mark one on the biggest social changes in legislation the country has seen, and Britain will join around a dozen other countries who have decided to allow the state to step in at end of life. The tight parameters around the legislation mean only those who are terminally ill and facing six months or less to live would be given the choice of ending their lives on their terms. And they have to be residents of England or Wales.

Today, the News Agents discuss, with honesty and a little confusion, how we are each feeling about it. We ask what part religion may be playing in MPs decisions and what is at stake if the bill passes or if it fails.

Editor: Tom Hughes

Executive Producer: Louis Degenhardt

Producer: Natalie Indge

Digital Editor: Michaela Walters

Social Media Editor: Georgia Foxwell

Video Production: Rory Symon, Shane Fennelly & Arvind Badewal

Digital Journalists: Michael Baggs & Jacob Paul

You can watch Lewis's special report on the abortion crisis in Florida here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=df5BCL0ocFE

Don’t forget you can also subscribe to our other News Agents podcasts via the link below:

https://linktr.ee/thenewsagents

The News Agents USA now have merch! Click here to buy yours now: https://store.global.com/collections/the-news-agents-usa

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 by HSBC UK - https://www.hsbc.co.uk/

Could Marine Le Pen topple the Eurozone? Nov 26, 2024

Show notes

Later in the show we’ll be speaking to Department for Work and Pensions Secretary Liz Kendall straight from the Commons, after she delivers her plans to cut the welfare bill. But we start with the economic story you might be missing, and one that could dwarf everything else.

It begins in France where Marine Le Pen is currently threatening to bring down the Michel Barnier government by voting against his budget with the help of the far left parties. She says the budget is out of touch with the needs of ordinary working people and their electricity bills, but her moves and the ripples of uncertainty they create could trigger a Eurozone crisis of the likes seen last when Greece collapsed after the banking crisis. Is that where we are heading?

And, lots of people from all over the world have signed a lovely petition calling for a UK general election. What’s the...erm...point?

Editor: Tom Hughes

Executive Producer: Louis Degenhardt

Producer: Natalie Indge

Digital Editor: Michaela Walters

Social Media Editor: Georgia Foxwell

Video Production: Rory Symon, Shane Fennelly & Arvind Badewal

Digital Journalists: Michael Baggs & Jacob Paul

You can watch Lewis's special report on the abortion crisis in Florida here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=df5BCL0ocFE

Don’t forget you can also subscribe to our other News Agents podcasts via the link below:

https://linktr.ee/thenewsagents

The News Agents USA now have merch! Click here to buy yours now: https://store.global.com/collections/the-news-agents-usa

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 by HSBC UK - https://www.hsbc.co.uk/

The Jaguar backlash - Is 'woke capitalism' dead? Nov 25, 2024

Show notes

The newly released Jaguar advert displays an array of brightly coloured models cat-walking around a large rock with no car. It has sent Jaguar traditionalists into a tailspin. The company's CEO is unrepentant, and moreover says he's quite enjoying the attention/backlash.

Today, we speak to the masters of the advertising world, Saatchi & Saatchi. So, is the advert any good? Is the backlash about something more profound than cars? Is 'woke capitalism' on the way out?

Later, Romania's first round Presidential elections produced a shock winner overnight - the ultranationalist right winger Calin Georgescu came from nowhere. He's Putin friendly, NATO sceptic, pro-tarif, and anti immigrant. In the first European elections since Donald Trump's victory, what might this mean for the direction of the EU, Ukraine and the upcoming German elections?

Editor: Tom Hughes

Executive Producer: Louis Degenhardt

Producer: Natalie Indge

Digital Editor: Michaela Walters

Social Media Editor: Georgia Foxwell

Video Production: Rory Symon, Shane Fennelly & Arvind Badewal

Digital Journalists: Michael Baggs & Jacob Paul

You can watch Lewis's special report on the abortion crisis in Florida here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=df5BCL0ocFE

Don’t forget you can also subscribe to our other News Agents podcasts via the link below:

https://linktr.ee/thenewsagents

The News Agents USA now have merch! Click here to buy yours now: https://store.global.com/collections/the-news-agents-usa

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 by HSBC UK - https://www.hsbc.co.uk/

Weekend Edition - The Sports Agents Nov 23, 2024

Show notes

The week on The Sports Agents...

Gabby travels to Newcastle United to speak to players Dan Burn and Amber-Keegan Stobbs, and club icon Shola Ameobi about using the power of the Premier League to help the local community (02:40).

Burn chats about his work with the Foundation, the pressure of 'local hero' status and Eddie Howe's England snub.

Plus... this stadium ain't big enough for the both of us: we look at lots of sports to see if women's football will actually get more fans by sharing the men's stadiums. Is it even feasible long-term? And if not, what's the new plan? That's with ex-England footballer Anita Asante and Host of Counter Pressed podcast, Flo Lloyd-Hughes (13:50).

And Mo Farah chases down a thief - you can guess who won! (23:16)

Got a question for The Sports Agents - email us at thesportsagents@global.com

New episodes every Tuesday and Thursday.

Kim Leadbeater on assisted dying, fractious politics and Jo Cox Nov 22, 2024

Show notes

Next week, MPs will get their first opportunity in almost a decade to vote on extending the choices available to terminally ill people at the end of their lives. A contentious subject, The Assisted Dying bill is being championed by MP Kim Leadbeater, sister of the murdered MP Jo Cox.

Lewis joined Kim in her parliamentary office to talk about the bill, her optimism for the future, and the legacy of her sister.

Editor: Tom Hughes

Executive Producer: Louis Degenhardt

Producer: Natalie Indge

Digital Editor: Michaela Walters

Social Media Editor: Georgia Foxwell

Video Production: Rory Symon, Shane Fennelly & Arvind Badewal

Digital Journalists: Michael Baggs & Jacob Paul

You can watch Lewis's special report on the abortion crisis in Florida here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=df5BCL0ocFE

Don’t forget you can also subscribe to our other News Agents podcasts via the link below:

https://linktr.ee/thenewsagents

The News Agents USA now have merch! Click here to buy yours now: https://store.global.com/collections/the-news-agents-usa

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 by HSBC UK - https://www.hsbc.co.uk/

Our TOPPODCAST Picks

Follow Us

Stay Connected

Related Podcasts

Links

Stay Connected