The News Agents
Emily Maitlis, Jon Sopel and Lewis Goodall – three of the UK’s top journalists – host an award-winning daily news podcast: The News Agents. They’re not just here to tell you what's happening, but why. Expect astute analysis and explanation of the day's news – and a healthy dose of scepticism and the ability to laugh at it all when needed. Episodes are available every weekday afternoon. You can listen to The News Agents on Alexa, just say "Alexa ask Global Player to play The News Agents" The News Agents is a Global Player Original podcast. For advertising opportunities on this podcast email: dax@global.com You can visit our website here https://www.thenewsagents.co.uk/
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Episodes
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How did Epstein make his money?
Friday, 20 February 2026
The tentacles of Epstein’s billionaire paedophile ring crossed continents, age, political persuasion and profession. That much is all clear from the files. But what we are still piecing together is how Epstein made his millions in the first place. Was it endowed? Stolen? Invested? Or blackmail?This Friday, Jon and Emily speak to American journalist, Anand Giridharadas, about the 'Epstein class' and how it was allowed to flourish. And ask whether it still exists?The News Agents is brought to you by HSBC UK - https://www.hsbc.co.uk/
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Is Russia's ban from world sport over? - The Sports Agents
Friday, 20 February 2026
Russian and Belarusian athletes will be allowed to represent their countries at the upcoming Winter Paralympics. For the first time since 2014, since Russia’s state-sponsored doping programme and the war with Ukraine, we will see the Russian flag and potentially hear the anthem.Ukrainian officials are boycotting, but FIFA President, Gianni Infantino, has also recently said he wants to lift football’s ban on Russia.This all comes after Ukrainian skeleton athlete, Vladyslav Heraskevych, was disqualified from the Winter Olympics for wearing a helmet showing Ukrainians killed in the war.So, is...
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The arrest of Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor
Thursday, 19 February 2026
A man in his sixties has been arrested in Norfolk. The mundanity of the police statement belies the monumental significance of what just happened. The eighth in line to the crown, the former Prince Andrew, has been arrested on suspicion of misconduct in public office. Andrew has denied any wrongdoing.The arrest centres around the alleged exchange of confidential emails between him and Epstein in his role as trade envoy. What happens now to the former royal, and to the family that’s trying so hard to distance themselves from him?The News Agents is brought to you by HSBC UK - https://www.hsbc...
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Introducing: Up To Speed
Thursday, 19 February 2026
News Agents listeners, we've got a new podcast we think you'll love.Step inside sport’s greatest soap opera, Formula One, with a brand-new podcast Up To Speed. Hosted by Drive to Survive star Will Buxton, racing driver-turned-broadcaster Naomi Schiff, 13-time Grand Prix winner David Coulthard, and F1 content creator Jolie Sharpe.Expect razor-sharp reaction, behind-the-scenes insight, blockbuster interviews and answers to the questions you’ve always wanted to ask! With their deep knowledge, expert analysis and infectious love for racing, Will, Naomi, DC & Jolie dive into the stories that mat...
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Why didn’t the BBC ask Prince William about Andrew?
Wednesday, 18 February 2026
Prince William gave an interview to BBC Radio 1 to talk about men’s mental health and the importance of speaking out. It’s a vital topic - and it affects millions of people.What was noticeable, however, was that in the course of the hour long discussion there was not a single mention of the man at the centre of our national discourse - and of his own family - Andrew Mountbatten Windsor.Is it still sustainable to protect the royals from awkward questions? Or does something need to change in the dialogue between press and monarchy? Is it all over if we treat them like politicians, door steppi...
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Did the Met Police cover up for Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor?
Tuesday, 17 February 2026
Today we have an exclusive investigation into the relationship between the Metropolitan Police Royal Protection officers and the royals they served. Did things become too cosy? Were they encouraged to ignore wrong doing? And why did none of them want to work for Prince Andrew?LBC crime correspondent and The Crime Agents host, Andy Hughes, has a story from inside the force.And later, we speak to Virginia Giuffre’s brother Sky Roberts about why he thinks the Met needs to move faster and call Andrew in for questioning.The News Agents is brought to you by HSBC UK - https://www.hsbc.co.uk/
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Why was a Labour campaign group spying on journalists?
Monday, 16 February 2026
The Prime Minister has called for an investigation by the Cabinet Office into the campaign group Labour Together which helped get him into power. The think tank is accused of having dug up dirt on journalists investigating its use of political donations. Who signed off the dark arts smear campaign? And why are we just hearing about it now? Later, is Trump’s attorney General part of that Epstein cover up? Why is she so resistant to getting to the bottom of the crimes it reveals? The News Agents is brought to you by HSBC UK - https://www.hsbc.co.uk/
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Natalie Fleet MP: Her grooming story and how she fought back
Friday, 13 February 2026
It has been a dizzying week in UK politics since the publication of the latest of the Epstein files, and the revelations of his links to Westminster. But as the politics took over, it is the voice of survivors that is the centre of this story.This Friday Lewis is joined by Natalie Fleet, Labour MP for Bolsover, to discuss the politics of the last week, finding a voice for the women and victims of grooming, and whether she trusts the Prime Minister to deliver.The News Agents is brought to you by HSBC UK - https://www.hsbc.co.uk/
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Auld Enemy & Grand Slam Stakes: can Scotland stop England? - The Sports Agents
Friday, 13 February 2026
What a week we’ve had here on The Sports Agents, from penis-gate, to Winter Olympics heartbreak and Premier League managers getting sacked.This weekend sees Scotland host the Auld enemy at Murrayfield as they take on England for the Calcutta Cup.Love might not be in the air north of the border, but there were remnants in the studio - as Gabby welcomed her husband and former Scottish winger Kenny Logan onto the show.England’s Six Nations title charge, mounting pressure on Scotland head coach Gregor Townsend, and what does Valentine's Day look like in the Logan household?📩 Got a question? Sen...
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Has racism been normalised in the immigration debate?
Thursday, 12 February 2026
Jim Ratcliffe, the part owner of Manchester United, multi-billionaire and Monaco based non dom, has taken the government to task for allowing immigrants to “colonise“ the U.K. Does he realise he’s using a far right trope? Have we become immune to racism in the immigration debate? And why did a successful businessman not even check his facts on the numbers?Later - why has a foreign office civil servant lashed out at the woman primed to become Keir Starmer’s cabinet secretary? Does he know something we don’t or is this the “boys club” mentality in action?The News Agents is brought to you by H...
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Why does Keir Starmer keep promoting the friends of paedos?
Wednesday, 11 February 2026
Keir Starmer came away from a bruising Prime Minister's Questions encounter having to explain why he appeared to make the same mistake twice. No sooner had the fallout from the Mandelson appointment settled (briefly) than the question of why he’d sent another friend of a paedo to the House of Lords.This time it’s his former comms director Matthew Doyle who admitted his error of judgment in campaigning for a sex offender after he was charged by police. What does it tell us about Downing Street, vetting and the House of Lords?Later, is the story of the Murdoch dynasty essentially one of emoti...
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How did the coup against Keir Starmer go wrong?
Tuesday, 10 February 2026
What was the moment of maximum jeopardy for the Prime Minister on Monday? And how did he turn it around? Was there more than one plotter? And what brought the party back from the brink?We dissect what we know about the coup that went wrong.Later, why is Congress talking about the perilous state of our monarchy? And is the King doing enough to set the Andrew Mountbatten record straight?The News Agents is brought to you by HSBC UK - https://www.hsbc.co.uk/
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Is Labour turning on Keir Starmer?
Monday, 9 February 2026
Another head spinning day in Westminster. Scottish Labour leader Anas Sarwar called on Starmer to stand down as Prime Minister, saying "the distraction needs to end and the leadership in Downing Street has to change."Many Cabinet Ministers were quick to jump to Starmer's defence. Some were notably slow to back the Prime Minister. With the drama coming just a day after Starmer lost his right-hand-man, Morgan McSweeney, the question today is whether this is the beginning of the end for Keir Starmer?The News Agents is brought to you by HSBC UK - https://www.hsbc.co.uk/
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How the government became a student loan shark
Friday, 6 February 2026
Imagine a loan where the Government sets the terms. It can change the terms at any time, and you have no recourse to alter them yourself.A loan designed so most people never clear it, but pay for it anyway. Not because they failed, but because that’s how it was built.This is the system successive British governments have built. In this episode of The News Agents, we examine the relations of our student loan system and ask how can it be that the UK government has built a system that you might say would make a loan shark blush? The News Agents is brought to you by HSBC UK - https://www.hsbc.c...
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So you think you're a Winter Olympics expert? - The Sports Agents
Friday, 6 February 2026
The Winter Olympics are here! What sport are we all going to pretend to be an expert at? Curling maybe? Today Gabby and Mark are joined by one of Great Britain’s biggest medal hopes, freestyle skier Kirsty Muir.She started skiing at 3 years old on the dry slopes of Scotland - imagine the carpet burn doing flips on that surface! Her nan can’t even watch when she does the huge tricks. This year she’s already won gold at the X Games and her third World Cup title. So can she win gold in Italy?Plus, we catch you up on the best bits from The Sports Agents this week, from Carlos Alcaraz's historic...
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Can Keir Starmer save himself from the Mandelson scandal?
Thursday, 5 February 2026
Keir Starmer apologised this morning for appointing Peter Mandelson as Britain's ambassador to the US. He said he should never have believed "the lies" of Mandelson.He says he understands the "anger and frustration" of Labour MPs. But is he in a position to win back the support of his own party? How close is he to the brink? And - if Mandelson's relationship with Epstein was widely known at the time of his appointment - what is the PM actually apologising for?One of those concerned Labour MPs, Brian Leishman, tells us that Starmer's chief of staff Morgan McSweeney needs to leave Downing Str...
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Could the Mandelson scandal bring down Keir Starmer?
Wednesday, 4 February 2026
Keir Starmer says Peter Mandelson "lied repeatedly" about the extent of his relationship with Jeffrey Epstein, and said that he regrets appointing the Labour Peer as US ambassador in 2024. But with the relationship between the men well known, questions about the Prime Minister's political judgement are looming. Could this be the moment that brings down the Prime Minister?Later, Sir Brian Leveson on why the courts system faces potential collapse without major reform - and the calls to resurrect his investigations into phone hacking and the media.The News Agents is brought to you by HSBC UK -...
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Did Peter Mandelson betray Britain to impress Jeffrey Epstein?
Tuesday, 3 February 2026
Things are moving at quite a pace these days, but at the time of writing Peter Mandelson has relinquished his peerage and the Prime Minister has asked the Cabinet Office to hand over Mandelson's emails to the police. The Republican campaign group has also called on the police to investigate Andrew Mountbatten Windsor. Will any of this lead anywhere? Or is it all just noise? And why have the Clinton’s now decided to testify before Congress on what they knew about Jefrey Epstein?The News Agents is brought to you by HSBC UK - https://www.hsbc.co.uk/
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Could Peter Mandelson end up in jail?
Monday, 2 February 2026
Peter Mandelson has resigned from the Labour party and insists he "doesn’t recall" receiving tens of thousands of pounds from Jeffrey Epstein but has now called for "an investigation...by me“ to check.What was he doing lobbying for the paedophile billionaire from the heart of government? And what retribution if any should he now face? Keir Starmer has called for his peerage to be removed. But is Keir the only person who can actually make it happen?Later we hear from tax expert Dan Neidle on whether criminal charges could be brought. And what do the 3 million strong Epstein files tell us mor...
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Is British politics just ungovernable?
Friday, 30 January 2026
Keir Starmer is historically unpopular. When he entered Downing Street, his approval rating stood around +10%. Now? The Prime Minister languishes around -50%. It's the steepest drop in support for any governing party still in its infancy. 8 out of 10 people say that Britain is getting worse as a place to live under Labour's watch. One poll conducted towards the end of last year suggested that even Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor had more public confidence than Keir Starmer's government. What on earth is going on? What explains such an instant - and decisive - turn in public mood away from a part...
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Content is king but at what cost to player privacy? - The Sports Agents
Friday, 30 January 2026
You’ve likely seen the viral video of Coco Gauff smashing her racket in a corridor at the Australian Open. She tried to go somewhere without cameras and failed. Now she's complaining the only private place is the locker room, Novak Djokovic says it's like "big brother", Iga Swiatek thinks they're "animals in a zoo". Content is king but at what cost to player privacy? Isn’t this the kind of access we all wanted to drive sports broadcasting forward and grow the sport? The bigger the sport - the more financial reward for players, so why complain? Or are we in danger of forgetting they’re only ...
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Is Trump about to rig the midterm elections?
Thursday, 29 January 2026
The election offices of Fulton County were raided by FBI agents yesterday morning. Fulton, in the state of Georgia, was at the heart of Donald Trump's claims six years ago that he’d won the 2020 election (he didn’t). Why are ballot boxes of archived votes now being removed from the premises? Is this still about a six years ago old grudge? Or does it presage Trump's plan for the November midterm elections? We speak to the Commissioner on the premises who watched the action unfold before her eyes.Later - offensive language warning - the Reform councillor on the Redcar ballot - who got through...
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Why does Kemi Badenoch want an even smaller Tory party?
Wednesday, 28 January 2026
Kemi Badenoch has told her party not to get in her way as she steers it further to the Right. Is this the correct assessment of what the Conservatives needs to attract voters back? Or is she way off?Later, Trump has threatened Iran with his big beautiful armada. Does he have any concern for the protestors getting killed in their tens of thousands thousands? Or is this all about US interests?The News Agents is brought to you by HSBC UK - https://www.hsbc.co.uk/
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Has Trump lost the battle for Minneapolis?
Tuesday, 27 January 2026
Donald Trump's tone on Minneapolis has changed in the last 24 hours. He’s now having conciliatory meetings and phone calls with State Governor Tim Walz and the city's Mayor Jacob Frey.And it looks like he’s removed his Border Commander Gregory Bovino and put him out to pasture in California. What's behind the change of heart? Was it the polls? The murder of American citizens? Or the fact that his administration’s account of the killings has been flatly caught out by camera evidence. Is his ICE policy in meltdown? Or just on hold?Later - how extremism is climbing in the UK pushed by social m...
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Is Reform UK becoming a Tory party retirement home?
Monday, 26 January 2026
Former Home Secretary Suella Braverman has renounced the party that gave her power, and defected to Reform. She's telling us today that Britain is broken and “she” (Britain, not Suella) was “suffering”.Are Reform better off with her? Are the Tories better off without her? And has it been enough of a distraction from the Andy Burnham saga to give Keir Starmer a lucky break?Later, is Trump panicking about his ICE strategy after the latest murder of a US citizen on the streets of Minneapolis?The News Agents is brought to you by HSBC UK - https://www.hsbc.co.uk/
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Special Report: Surveillance and snatch squads in Trump's new America
Friday, 23 January 2026
In Minneapolis right now, there are more ICE and border patrol agents than there are police officers. The national guard - the army - is on standby to deploy to the city.Everybody in the city has a story about being targeted by ICE. Many now carry passports on them when they leave the house. If they are fortunate enough not to have been stopped themselves, they will know a neighbour, a friend, a colleague or a relative. Some Minnesotans literally do not know where their family have been taken.State senators have told The News Agents there is "a war against the State" being waged by the fede...
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Brand Beckham & Osaka's Jellyfish - has sport ever been so fashionable? - The Sports Agents
Friday, 23 January 2026
Everyone’s been talking about the Beckhams and Naomi Osaka this week. Hard to believe a family feud and a jellyfish outfit at the Australian Open have anything in common - but where Sir Alex Ferguson used to fight to keep David Beckham's focus on the pitch, sport is now embracing fashion like never before...Lewis Hamilton and Serena Williams pictured at the Met Gala, Stella McCartney designing Arsenal kits, and the famous NBA Tunnel Walks.Have we all grown up enough to appreciate that athletes having other interests doesn’t mean they aren’t distracted from getting the win? How much money do...
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Dictators, Invaders and Trump's motley crew on the Board of Peace
Thursday, 22 January 2026
Originally intended to be a small group overseeing a ceasefire in Gaza, Trump's Board of Peace has evolved into something much bigger. Apparently "a lot of great people" want to join, but who’s going to pay the billion dollars to sit on it? And what are Trump's real aspirations for the Board of Peace? On today’s show we try and break down what he’s hoping to achieve, whether the UN should feel threatened and why there’s no mention of Gaza in the draft text. Later, we are joined by Peter Frankopan - did Trump “get" Greenland or has NATO just found a way to make him think so?The News Agents i...
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Trump's Greenland shakedown: 'Say no and we will remember'
Wednesday, 21 January 2026
Donald Trump took to the stage at Davos to take the military invasion of Greenland off the table, cue sighs of relief from European leaders and NATO.But his ambitions for the US to own the territory have gone nowhere. He still wants to acquire it, and demanded immediate negotiations to begin that process. Increasingly. it seems that America's one-time allies have grown impatient with Trump's belligerent approach. What happens if he doesn’t get what wants? And is Europe actually growing a bit of a spine?It was a rambling speech from Donald Trump, in which he appeared to forget names, and fre...
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A year of Trump: terror, territory and tariffs
Tuesday, 20 January 2026
We bring you a special report today of the 'dark flights' that are deporting hundreds of people - the vast majority of them here legally - in shackles from Minnesota to Texas detention centres.There is no official record these flights exists, so one man - an aviation specialist - has made it his life’s work to document each flight that leaves and count the number of people who are being "disappeared" without trace.But - on this inauguration anniversary - we start with the latest conundrum for the world’s leaders: who is Trump threatening to invade now? And can any of their words make a diff...
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