Why are top comedians performing at a comedy festival in Saudi Arabia?
The News Meeting25 Sep 2025

Why are top comedians performing at a comedy festival in Saudi Arabia?

This weekend marks the first-ever Riyadh Comedy Festival, with Jimmy Carr, Aziz Ansari, and Dave Chappelle on the bill. It’s being reported they are each being paid upwards of $375,000 to perform in a country which severely restricts freedom of speech. What does Trump’s cryptic “good luck to all” at the UN really mean for Ukraine - and should we be worried? Is the breakthrough on Huntington’s disease The News Meeting’s first genuinely good news story?


Giles Whittell is joined by The Observer’s International Editor, Steve Bloomfield, and reporters Rachael Healy and James Tapper as they pitch the top story of the day


** Listen to The Observer’s new culture podcast We Have Notes HERE


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Host: Giles Whittell, Deputy Editor-In-Chief


Producer: Amalie Sortland


Executive Producer: Rebecca Moore


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Episoder(692)

What went wrong aboard the never-ending cruise?

What went wrong aboard the never-ending cruise?

Could a record Palestinian-Israeli voter turnout ultimately decide Netanyahu’s political fate? What does the new data centre covenant announced in Chancellor John Healey’s budget tell us about the gov...

29 Okt 35min

How safe is your internet?

How safe is your internet?

Will Chancellor John Healey play it safe in next week’s budget? Who’s responsible for the decline of Manchester United? What does the cyber-security flaw within PHP tell us about the future of interne...

22 Okt 32min

How can the media report on the Russell Brand trial?

How can the media report on the Russell Brand trial?

With the media fanfare surrounding Russell Brand’s trial, how can jurors be kept away from prejudicial information? What does US control over Ukraine’s defence technology mean for the war, and wider s...

15 Okt 33min

Why did Andrew M-W win his legal claim against the police?

Why did Andrew M-W win his legal claim against the police?

Can Gen Z protesters in France bring about political change? With the enormous financial pull of the tech industry, can Hollywood blockbusters like Artificial and The Social Reckoning meaningfully cri...

8 Okt 32min

Could the plane stabbing affect Israel’s upcoming election?

Could the plane stabbing affect Israel’s upcoming election?

What next for Manchester City after the Premier League club was found guilty of serious financial-rule breaches? And if the Crown Prosecution Service brings charges over the fatal 2017 Grenfell Tower ...

1 Okt 32min

Will Trump confront Xi Jinping over China’s support of Iran?

Will Trump confront Xi Jinping over China’s support of Iran?

China’s president, Xi, is in Washington. What’s at stake? Is the 40-year ban on people drinking in football stands about to end? And what might the new bereavement leave law mean for people who have l...

24 Sep 28min

Can Ed Sheeran keep politics out of music?

Can Ed Sheeran keep politics out of music?

How seriously should world leaders take warnings of rogue AI models? Should people be allowed to bet on the trials of new medicines? Why did Ed Sheeran drop his support act, Macklemore, from his tour?...

17 Sep 32min

Is Trump bribing voters?

Is Trump bribing voters?

Why has President Trump promised Americans $5000 dollars each if Republicans win the midterms elections? How seriously should we take former Anthropic researcher Jacob Coxon's earnest warning that AI ...

10 Sep 32min

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