The News Agents

Animal Rights Protestors are being blamed for the death of a racehorse at the Grand National this weekend after they forced a delay which - trainers say - agitated the animals.

Animal Rising - the protestors - say: Don't blame us - horses are dying on racecourses; with or without the delays.

But they're delighted we're now having a conversation about animal cruelty, sport and what happens to thoroughbred horses if racing stops.

We speak to Ed Chamberlin who saw it all unfold with his own eyes - as the head of ITV's horse racing presenting team.

And to Claudia Penna-Rojas from Animal Rising. We also discuss Rishi Sunak's finances - he's under investigation by the parliamentary standards commissioner.

And we ask if we should all be better at maths - with maths lover and teacher Bobby Seagull.

You can watch our episodes in full at https://global-player.onelink.me/Br0x/Videos

The News Agents is a Global Player Original and a Persephonica Production.

If you thought the overturning of Roe v Wade- the constitutional right to an abortion in the United States was the end of it in 2022, then 2023 has other ideas. Or rather the radical, anti-abortion groups in the United States have other ideas.

Just this week, Florida’s Governor (and presidential hopeful) Republican Ron DeSantis introduced a six week abortion ban in the third biggest state in the country.

And in Texas, a Trump-appointed judge ruled that a drug used in over 50% of abortions in America, should never have been legal in the first place. Chaos reigns and once again, the Supreme Court will decide.

On a special deep dive of The News Agents we explore both of these cases and ask whether, as part of a culmination of a five decade political strategy and movement, abortion in America will be abolished, by stealth.

You can watch our episodes in full at https://global-player.onelink.me/Br0x/Videos

The News Agents is a Global Player Original and a Persephonica Production.

China's President Xi Jinping has told his troops they should be ready for real combat.

So now we are wondering if Taiwan will be the next Ukraine.

It comes after a week of China sabre-rattling in the Taiwan straits - surrounding the island on all sides with a blockade.

France's President Macron is just back from Beijing where he's set the cat amongst the pigeon's with some ill-judged comments about Taiwan.

In fact, the Elysee Palace thought them so ill-judged they ordered their removal from the interview he gave. We discuss the damage done, and we hear from Liz Truss in Washington who goes off on one.

You can watch our episodes in full at https://global-player.onelink.me/Br0x/Videos

The News Agents is a Global Player Original and a Persephonica Production.

We've been told off-record that Joe Biden might be Irish.

Obviously, unattributable. So keep it under your hat.

He's the latest in a long line of US Presidents who feels the pull of the Emerald Isle very strongly and traces his ancestry back there by 180 years. But he begins the day in Belfast - reflecting on the Good Friday peace accord 25 years ago.

But can he get power-sharing back on track? Or is he too scared to even mention it?

And we look at the delights and dangers of a world exclusive interview.

Who has the power when Elon Musk is in the seat?

You can watch our episodes in full at https://global-player.onelink.me/Br0x/Videos

The News Agents is a Global Player Original and a Persephonica Production.

Labour’s Easter weekend attack ads about the Conservatives and Rishi Sunak specifically have been called 'politics of the gutter' by, awkwardly, Labour’s former Home Secretary David Blunkett.

Lewis is joined by Steve Reed, the party’s Shadow Justice Secretary, who was behind the campaign. He, as you’ll hear is entirely unapologetic.

Is this the start of a new period of a more vicious politics?

And NHS surgeons may be about to face their own #MeToo moment, with female surgeons coming forward to say that sexual assault and misogyny within surgery is commonplace.

Lewis talks to Rachel Sylvester, who has written for The Times on the subject and Roshana Mehdian-Staffel, an orthopaedic surgeon who has spoken out about her experiences.

You can watch our episodes in full at https://global-player.onelink.me/Br0x/Videos

The News Agents is a Global Player Original and a Persephonica Production.

There are two questions that accompany any political scandal. What did you know and when did you know it?

After questioning Nicola Sturgeon's husband Peter Murrell for eleven hours yesterday, police are back at their Glasgow house, and there's still a blue evidence tent in the garden.

It comes just a week after the leadership election of new SNP First Minister Humza Yousaf, seen as the Sturgeon succession candidate.

So what should we make of the timing of all this? And what are the political implications if it was pre arranged?

We ask the leader of the SNP in Westminster, Stephen Flynn.

And we talk e-scooters after 90% of Parisians vote to ban them from Paris.

You can watch our episodes in full at https://global-player.onelink.me/Br0x/Videos

The News Agents is a Global Player Original and a Persephonica Production.

When we left you Trump was on the cusp of entering the Manhattan criminal court as an arrested man.

That didn't go well.

A door was flung shut in his face. And the indignities began. In this special all-nighter episode of The News Agents we take you through the charges against him, the reaction, the defence and the speech to his supporters in Mar-a-Lago.

We speak to a key member of Trump's campaign team who was with him in the wings moments before he went on stage.

You can watch our episodes in full at https://global-player.onelink.me/Br0x/Videos

The News Agents is a Global Player Original and a Persephonica Production.

Donald Trump will today become the first US president to appear in court on criminal charges.

He arrived in NYC late yesterday and will shortly be heading to Lower Manhattan District Court to have his fingerprints taken and hear the 34 charges of improper business dealings being levelled against him.

Will the criminal charges stack up?

Will Trump keep his cool?

And will his supporters take to the streets in protest?

In Part One we take you through the process step-by-step. In Part 2 - tomorrow morning - the Trump fightback.

You can watch our episodes in full at https://global-player.onelink.me/Br0x/Videos

The News Agents is a Global Player Original and a Persephonica Production.

Rishi Sunak has pledged to end the 'political correctness' that stops police arresting child sex abusers from ethnic minority backgrounds.

The scandals of Rotherham, Rochdale, Telford show how badly things can go wrong for victims when the perpetrators are seen to be beyond the law.

But Labour's West Yorkshire mayor has called it 'dog whistle politics' - and some are wondering why the Conservatives are borrowing the far right language of Tommy Robinson. Is it possible to have a nuanced debate?

And the Italian newspapers are writing today about our 'Fifteen Hour Dover Brexit queues'. Is everyone pointing to Brexit except the British government?

You can watch our episodes in full at https://global-player.onelink.me/Br0x/Videos

The News Agents is a Global Player Original and a Persephonica Production.

For the first time in American history a former president has been indicted (charged) with a criminal offence.

Donald Trump will appear in a New York court on Tuesday afternoon.

Do the charges stack up? Will they help Trump or hinder Trump? And how is this unprecedented moment going to impact the Presidential Race of 2024.?

Spoiler alert - you can actually campaign from behind bars...

You can watch our episodes in full at https://global-player.onelink.me/Br0x/Videos

The News Agents is a Global Player Original and a Persephonica Production.