This week on The News Agents: USA - Is Biden really that 'rock-solid' with the UK?

Just when you thought it was safe to go back into the airspace, another one gets shot down. What are these unidentified flying objects? Are they *just* balloons? And are there more of them now or are we just noticing them more? What does it tell us about a) the sky b) the relations we now have with one of our biggest trading partners, China. And - missing in action? Jon Sopel has finally turned up ... on Prime Time Australian TV. We are merciless, as you would expect.You can watch our episodes in full at https://www.globalplayer.com/videos/brands/news-agents/the-news-agents/The News Agents is a Global Player Original and a Persephonica Production.

13 Feb 202329min

Childcare in Britain is broken and yet it is almost never talked about. Why? In this episode, Lewis dissects why Labour thinks this could be the key to a majority at the next election and why in 21st century Britain having children is fast becoming a luxury item. We talk you through how the system has become so expensive and the fact that families increasingly find themselves wondering whether it’s worth both parents staying in work - or worth even having children at all. We also bring you up to date with the ongoing set of scandals engulfing sexual crimes and the Metropolitan Police and- horrifyingly- whether there may be even more to come. You can watch our episodes in full at https://www.globalplayer.com/videos/brands/news-agents/the-news-agents/The News Agents is a Global Player Original and a Persephonica Production.

10 Feb 202334min

Authoritarian regimes in both Syria and Turkey make a devastating situation even more complicated. How do we get aid in to help quake victims when the humanitarian corridors are limited and social media communication is censored?In Turkey many want to know where the 30 billion pounds of funding that was meant to make buildings earthquake-proof has gone.Meanwhile, Russia is on the move - coming to Syria's rescue. What's the agenda there? We asked former Foreign Secretary and International Rescue Committee head David Miliband, Minister for Development Andrew Mitchell, and the Times's Hannah Lucinda Smith, who has lived in the regions for years and visited the quake epicentre this week.The DEC is launching the Turkey-Syria Earthquake to deliver vital aid in the aftermath of earthquakes that hit Turkey and Syria and raise funds to help its 15 charities to scale up their work to reach more of the millions of people affected. People need help now. Please donate at dec.org.uk.You can watch our episodes in full at https://www.globalplayer.com/videos/brands/news-agents/the-news-agents/The News Agents is a Global Player Original and a Persephonica Production.

9 Feb 202337min

With a mere couple of hours notice that Ukraine's President Zelensky was in town, The News Agents dropped everything to get to Westminster Hall to hear him address both houses of Parliament. A speech that began with gracious tributes quickly got to its blunt point: A request for 'wings' - fighter jets - which the US and UK previously turned down. So will this historic demand change the minds of the world leaders? In the hall were both the PM and former PM Boris Johnson. Zelensky paid thanks to both. But The News Agents heard murmurings that Boris Johnson was muttering - all the way through the speech - about Rishi. We're sure it was all good thoughts...You can watch our episodes in full at https://www.globalplayer.com/videos/brands/news-agents/the-news-agents/The News Agents is a Global Player Original and a Persephonica Production.

8 Feb 202330min

Rishi Sunak has had his first proper reshuffle (excluding the one he did as soon as he started).What do the changes tell us about the priorities of this government? And what has he left? TL:DR Dominica Raab remains in his job. Then, we shift to the Calder Valley. James Norton is in HQ and talks playing a rapist, being from Yorkshire and what the PM is getting wrong with the arts.You can watch our episodes in full at https://www.globalplayer.com/videos/brands/news-agents/the-news-agents/The News Agents is a Global Player Original and a Persephonica Production.

7 Feb 202335min

Liz Truss is back. And oh. So are those pauses. She tells Spectator TV she doesn't want to be PM again but she does want to promote her economic ideas. (You remember the ones that nearly melted the markets). We ask why there has been so little self reflection. And if her economic diagnosis might one day prove right...And we speak to Malte Grunert - producer of the world's most harrowing film, All Quiet on the Western Front about German attitudes to war, modern warfare and German history.You can watch our episodes in full at https://www.globalplayer.com/videos/brands/news-agents/the-news-agents/The News Agents is a Global Player Original and a Persephonica Production.

6 Feb 202336min

Jeremy Corbyn’s time as Labour leader was one of the most extraordinary periods of modern politics. For a while he seemed like he’d moved the posts of politics. And yet now, he is a political ghost. He isn’t even a Labour MP. In this wide ranging and exclusive interview, Lewis talks to the man himself, at length about the prime ministers he knew, the biggest period of industrial unrest for decades, his successor, his suspension and the anti-Semitism saga which engulfed his leadership.You can watch our episodes in full at https://www.globalplayer.com/videos/brands/news-agents/the-news-agents/The News Agents is a Global Player Original and a Persephonica Production.

3 Feb 202345min

Little birdies have told The News Agents we can shortly expect Liz Truss to re-emerge onto the political scene. She's going to reiterate her ideology and perhaps address some of what went wrong in those fateful 49 days. Don't think of this as another bid for PM. She may be wanting to offer a Conservative template for future generations - think America's Republican firebrand Barry Goldwater in the 1960's who paved the way for Reaganism. And on the subject of Republicans - the Culture Wars in the US are back with a vengeance. Donald Trump is talking transgender, Ron DeSantis is taking on race.You can watch our episodes in full at https://www.globalplayer.com/videos/brands/news-agents/the-news-agents/The News Agents is a Global Player Original and a Persephonica Production.

2 Feb 202329min