The News Agents

A modern day thriller - a Chinese spy who infiltrated not only government, but Buckingham Palace. The alleged spy, Yang Tengbo, says he did "done nothing wrong or unlawful". How did Prince Andrew get mixed up in this, and why is he getting so much flack?

Later, we talk about Stephen Bartlett's podcast after a BBC investigation revealed widespread health misinformation. How is wellness being weaponised to support "freedom of expression"?

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

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/

Emily Thornberry is one of Labour's great survivors. An MP since 2005, she stuck with the party through 14 long years of opposition - serving in the shadow cabinets of Ed Miliband, Jeremy Corbyn and Keir Starmer. Never afraid to speak her mind, she's one of the party's most relaxed communicators, so why didn't Starmer bring her into government? On the backbenches, she's become chair of the foreign affairs committee - a powerful role scrutinising the work of the foreign secretary and Britain on the world stage. So with a revolution in Syria, Donald Trump poised to return to the White House, and populism on the rise in Europe, what better time to sit down with her to talk about her remarkable career. She speaks candidly to Lewis about her clashes with Corbyn's leadership team, Starmer's stuttering start and her journey towards the top of British politics.

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

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/

This week on The Sports Agents...

After the biggest contract in sports history was signed (15 years and $765m dollars for baseball player Juan Soto) we tried to get our heads around the huge numbers with U.S. Sports Business Reporter, Daniel Kaplan (01:43).

As the Formula One season ended we had a debrief about the big driver argument, Lewis Hamilton and next year's wide open title race with BBC F1 presenter and voice of Drive to Survive, Jennie Gow (07:34).

We talked about the Game of Thrones at Manchester United with The Athletic's Adam Crafton after their sporting director Dan Ashworth left after just five months (14:40).

And for a Christmas treat, Gabby's husband and ex-Scotland and Wasps rugby player, Kenny Logan, joined us to spill the tea on Gabby (18:40).

Got a question for The Sports Agents - email us at [email protected]

New episodes every Tuesday and Thursday.

Angela Rayner promises to deliver 1.5 million new homes within five years. It’s setting the battle lines for what the Telegraph is calling the “bulldozing of the Home Counties“. Is Keir Starmer ready to take on the Nimbys even if the Nimbys are now his core 2024 voter?

Later, who will be the “Voice of America“ - and what’s happening at the FBI?

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

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 agriculture company Arla foods is trialing a new cow feed in the UK that aims to cut down climate changing methane emissions. It’s been approved by the regulatory authorities here, in Europe, and in America. But it hasn’t stopped milk becoming the latest conspiracy in the culture war, with reform MPs arguing for its ban and labelling it “woke milk “.

Later, Kemi Badenoch goes for Keir Starmer over immigration at PMQs. Is that wise?

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

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/

Luigi Mangione is a 26 year old Ivy League graduate and an alleged cold blooded murderer. He’s also the top trending name worldwide with a Gen Z fanbase swooning over his abs. What does the shooting of a healthcare executive in New York, and the public response to it, tell us about American society and meme culture?

Later, what’s Israel doing in Syria - and could Netanyahu end up In jail for bribery ?

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

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/

Syria’s brutal dictator, Bashar al-Assad, has fled Syria for Moscow. On today's episode we speak to his first cousin Ribal al-Assad about the character of the man who tortured and killed millions of his own people, and ask what hope is there for Syria now that he’s gone? And should the UK accept the incoming regime of proscribed jihadi terrorists?

Later, Carole Cadwalladr tells us why she is concerned that the sale of The Observer to Tortoise media is the route to self implosion for The Guardian.

And we catch up with 30p Lee and his latest illuminating tweet.

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

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/

Rebel forces have seized control of Syria, leaving the country's President Bashar al-Assad scrambling to flee his homeland. There is jubilation on the streets of Damascus at the toppling of a despot who committed such grievous atrocities against his own people. But this is a move that will make leaders across the world nervous. Hayat Tahrir al-Sham, the group now in control of Syria, was set up as an affiliate of al-Qaeda and is a proscribed terrorist organisation in the UK, the US and many other countries. And with Russia and Iran losing a vital regional ally in Assad - how determined are they to shape Syria's future?

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 Journalist: Michael Baggs

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/

Why aren't politicians funny anymore? Who is the most important Prime Minister in your lifetime? Will Elon Musk and Donald Trump's bromance last? And who will succeed Donald Trump?

Emily, Jon and Lewis answer the questions that we couldn't get to at our live show at the Royal Albert Hall.

Tickets to The News Agents Live On Stage 2025 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 Journalist: Michael Baggs

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/

This week on The Sports Agents,

Gabby & Mark tackled the controversy surrounding the Premier League’s annual LGBTQ+ 'Rainbow Laces' campaign - after some players chose to directly challenge the Premier League’s directives. Wales all-time top goalscorer, Jess Fishlock (10:34) - MBE awarded for her services to football and the LGBTQ+ community and double-Paralympic 200m Champion Richard Whitehead joined us for a discussion about how 'inclusion' in wider sport (17:13).

The 4x Olympic Champion, Sir Ben Ainslie, joined us in the studio for an insight into working with Manchester United's new co-owner Jim Ratcliffe (02:39).

Got a question for The Sports Agents - email us at [email protected]

New episodes every Tuesday and Thursday.