Is it sexist to call Kamala by her first name? What happens to the election if Trump loses? Who’s the best president America never had? After a full on crazy week in America we answer your questions.Editor: Tom HughesProducers: Natalie Indge & Zeynel Can YuceDigital Editor: Michaela WaltersSocial Media Editor: Georgia FoxwellVideo Production: Shane FennellyYou 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/https://store.global.com/collections/the-news-agents

It was an act of supreme selflessness. And one of utmost urgency. Joe Biden acknowledged both things in his speech to the nation last night confirming he wouldn’t seek re-election. His rhetoric was rousing. But his speech faltering. He confirmed for many why he had to go, and left questions as to what happens in this final stretch of his presidency. Later, why are some Labour candidates accusing the Independent “pro Gaza“ MPs of running “toxic” electoral campaigns?In response to our interview with Heather Iqbal, The Workers Party said: "The Workers Party was closely associated with a number of Independent candidates who stood on a platform opposed to the genocide unfolding in Gaza. Our candidates and those with whom we were most closely associated polled a quarter of a million votes.In Manchester our supporters were the victim of a hit and run attack in May, during the general election in Littleborough a female campaigner of ours was assaulted outside the polling station and in Birmingham masked men attacked our canvassers with machetes and bats in Sutton Coldfield. No other party receieved this sort of violent harassment. All cases are reported in local and national media if you Google them, and all were caught on CCTV."Editor: Tom HughesProducers: Natalie Indge & Zeynel Can YuceSocial Media Editor: Georgia FoxwellDigital Editor: Michaela WaltersVideo Production: Shane FennellyYou 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/https://store.global.com/collections/the-news-agents

Keir Starmer has faced down his first rebellion by removing the whip from 7 Labour rebels who voted with the SNP to end the cap on child benefits for families of more than two children. Did Starmer overreact? Or does it look decisive? And is this really the policy he wants to hold out on? A decade old policy of Osborne austerity.We speak directly to one of the rebels who lost the whip and ask what happens now.Editor: Tom HughesProducers: Natalie Indge & Zeynel Can YuceDigital Editor: Michaela WaltersVideo Production: Shane FennellyYou 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/https://store.global.com/collections/the-news-agents

Kamala Harris raised a hundred million dollars in the day and a half since Joe Biden announced he wouldn't be standing for re-election.She has now passed the delegate threshold to stand as the candidate - and as we record no one else has thrown their name into the ring.Republicans are meanwhile having to accommodate the new reality of having the oldest candidate in the race.Later, we look at the UK broadcasting landscape with Ofcom regulator Melanie Dawes. Does Ofcom have teeth? And will it use them?Editor: Tom HughesSenior Producer: Gabriel RadusProducer: Natalie IndgeVideo Production: Shane FennellyYou 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/https://store.global.com/collections/the-news-agents

There is a dizziness to American politics right now - Vice President Kamal Harris raised 49 million dollars in the first twelve hours following Joe Biden's announcement that he would exit the race. She spent ten hours hitting the phones to garner Democratic support and is insisting she must 'earn' the votes of the delegates. But is the race already sewn up? Or might other candidates throw their names in the mix? And how well do we really know the figure who could be America's first female president? We talk to Ambassador Tony Gardner - a man right at the centre of the Democrats presidential campaigns, and to our leading historian Simon Schama - about the legacy Biden will leave and what this moment means for America.Editor: Tom HughesProducer: Natalie IndgeVideo Production: Shane FennellyYou 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/https://store.global.com/collections/the-news-agents

Chaos reigns in the Democratic party. In a virtually unprecedented move President Joe Biden has stepped aside from the presidential race weeks before he was due to become the Democrats’ candidate at their national convention in Chicago. Biden has endorsed his VP Kamala Harris. But is she assured of the crown? In a hastily assembled emergency podcast Jon, Emily and Lewis discuss the implications for the Dems, the election and the rest of the world.Editor: Tom HughesVideo Production: Shane FennellyYou 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/https://store.global.com/collections/the-news-agents

This week on The Sports Agents, Gareth Southgate resigned following England's Euro 2024 final defeat, and the world's best golfers tee'd it up for the 152nd Open Championship... The man who hired Gareth, former FA Managing Director Martin Glenn, joined Gabby & Mark for an insight into the process of finding his replacement and The Athletic's Jack Pitt-Brooke joined us in the studio to help assess the leading candidates. After Rory McIlroy defended his own caddie ahead of his first appearance at a major tournament since his US Open collapse, we were also joined by caddies Billy Foster (Matt Fitzpatrick) and Jeff Brighton (Colin Montgomerie) to find out more about the mind-blowing complexities of the role and how much difference a great one can really make. Search for The Sports Agents to hear these episodes in full. New episodes every Tuesday and Thursday.

Lewis is joined in the studio by one of the most senior women in British political history, former Labour Deputy Prime Minister, Harriet Harman.Two weeks into a new Labour government, she joins us for an extended conversation about her political life and journey, her memories of working alongside Gordon Brown and Tony Blair, and her advice to her successors in the party.Editor: Tom HughesProducer: Natalie IndgeVideo Production: Shane Fennelly & Arvind BadewalYou 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/https://store.global.com/collections/the-news-agents

It feels like the walls are finally closing in on President Biden. His closest political allies, the leaders of the Democratic Party in Congress, are abandoning him. Every interview he does poses more questions than it answers. How long can he fight on? Jon, Lewis and Emily discuss. Talking of Emily - have you ever thought she might need to get her head examined? Kari Lake, the Republican candidate for Senate in Arizona, thinks so. Meanwhile, Nigel Farage thinks she has no friends. Listen to both interviews to reveal all.Editor: Tom HughesSenior Producer: Gabriel RadusProducer: Natalie IndgeSocial Media Editor: Georgia FoxwellVideo Production: Rory Symon, Shane Fennelly & Arvind BadewalYou 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/https://store.global.com/collections/the-news-agents

Keir Starmer promised "national renewal" in today's King's Speech, where he outlined his policy plans for the next parliament.So did we get our first glimpse of what Starmerism might look like? Is the state back? And do we now have the most interventionist government for decades? Later in the show we return to Milwaukee and the Republican Party National convention. Emily is there speaking to senior party figures and asking where all the traditional Republicans have gone, as Trump and his acolytes take over the GOP.Editor: Tom HughesSenior Producer: Gabriel RadusProducer: Natalie IndgeSocial Media Editor: Georgia FoxwellVideo Production: Rory Symon, Shane Fennelly & Arvind BadewalYou 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/https://store.global.com/collections/the-news-agents

Emily is live from the Republican Party National Convention in Milwaukee, a room full of "cranks and weirdos", as we react to the news that Ohio Senator J.D Vance will be Trump's running mate in the 2024 Presidential election. What does Vance stand for? Will he change the trajectory of the campaign? And is he even more Trump than Trump himself?Later in the show we discuss two men who have resigned from their jobs today. Welsh First Minister Vaughan Gething, and England manager Gareth Southgate. Editor: Tom HughesSenior Producer: Gabriel RadusProducer: Natalie IndgeSocial Media Editor: Georgia FoxwellVideo Production: Rory Symon, Shane Fennelly & Arvind BadewalYou 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/https://store.global.com/collections/the-news-agents

Emily is in Milwaukee for the Republican Party National Convention, just 36 hours after an assassination attempt on their Presidential candidate Donald Trump.As both he and President Biden call for unity, we ask whether the shooting on Saturday will help both candidates. Is it an easier race now for Trump? Has it ensured a stay of execution for Joe Biden? And how long will this new-found unity last?Later in the show, historian and journalist Nick Bryant joins the show to talk about American's violent and constant battle with itself.Editor: Tom HughesSenior Producer: Gabriel RadusProducer: Natalie IndgeSocial Media Editor: Georgia FoxwellVideo Production: Rory Symon, Shane Fennelly & Arvind BadewalYou 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/https://store.global.com/collections/the-news-agents

Hours after Presidential candidate Donald Trump was shot at a rally in Pennsylvania, Jon and Lewis take a look at how the assassination attempt will impact the election in November.Will it strengthen Trump's campaign? And does it mean Joe Biden will now definitely stand against him?Editor: Tom HughesSenior Producer: Gabriel RadusYou 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/https://store.global.com/collections/the-news-agents

This week on The Sports Agents, We reflected on England's run to today's Euro 2024 final, Lewis Hamilton's record 9th British GP win and Novak Djokovic turning on the centre court crowd at Wimbledon. But you asked us to find out what's going on at Manchester United, after it emerged that the Women's side would be moved to 'portacabins' in order to accommodate the men - so we were joined by a host of guests including the former Head of Women's football at United, Polly Bancroft, to investigate a growing sense that the club's new owners simply don't care about the Women's game.With England v Spain on the brain and to mark two weeks until the start of the Olympics in Paris - a couple of TeamGB icons, Dame Jessica Ennis-Hill and Iwan Thomas, joined us to talk about how to 'peak' at just the right time for a moment that may only come around once in an athlete's career. Search for The Sports Agents to listen in full. New episodes every Tuesday and Thursday.

A week on from a Labour landslide in the 2024 General Election, Lewis and Emily answer the questions that have been bugging you over the past seven days.They're asked why Tories are giving speeches in America, whether Reform are now getting too much media attention, and when the next General Election be held. That and much more.Editor: Tom HughesSenior Producer: Gabriel RadusProducer: Natalie IndgeSocial Media Editor: Georgia FoxwellVideo Production: Rory Symon, Shane Fennelly & Arvind BadewalYou 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/https://store.global.com/collections/the-news-agents

Last night, the pressure on Joe Biden ramped up a notch - George Clooney called on the President not to stand in November, through a piece in the New York Times. It's being reported today he ran the op-ed past Barack Obama - who didnt try and dissuade him. Nancy Pelosi - arguably the Dem's most formidably woman -suggested Biden should 'make his decision...as time was running out'. And two senators spelled out the words the White House was dreading - Biden will lose to Trump if he doesn't quit the race.Will Biden reckon he can sit this one out until the media storm passes - or will the focus be unbearable until he chooses to go gracefully? It's fifty-fifty right now - and the Republican Convention kicks off in Wisconsin this weekend - how will the Democrats start talking about something else? Later, the new MPs sitting 'behaviour training ' courses - to remind them not to be rude/abusive/drunken in the commons - Aggie Chambré has the story. And - will Mr. Brightside become the 2024 euros anthem after The Killers Killer moment? We discuss the football, feelgood factors and folklore.Editor: Tom HughesSenior Producer: Gabriel RadusProducer: Zeynel YuceSocial Media Editor: Georgia FoxwellVideo Production: Rory Symon, Shane Fennelly & Arvind BadewalYou 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/https://store.global.com/collections/the-news-agents

PM Starmer has just arrived in Washington to meet President Biden for the first time. Arguably at a time when Biden needs Starmer more than Starmer needs the US president.He’s there to talk NATO - and our commitment to Ukraine. But questions about our own defence spending will pursue him. We’ll talk to the shadow foreign secretary Andrew Mitchell about Sir Keir's first week and the Tories last (in government for now). What lessons are his own party gleaning from their election defeat? And we reflect on billionaire brexiteer household appliance maker James Dyson’s fortunes as he fires a thousand people.Editor: Tom HughesSenior Producer: Gabriel RadusProducer: Zeynel YuceSocial Media Editor: Georgia FoxwellVideo Production: Rory Symon, Shane Fennelly & Arvind BadewalYou 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/https://store.global.com/collections/the-news-agents

A tale of two thinktanks - you lucky things. Jon has spent the day at the Tony Blair Institute and Emily has been with the Popular Conservatives (PopCons), Liz Truss' former parish. After the worst result in their history, how does the Conservative party rebuild?And what lessons are those on the right of the party taking away from Thursday night's defeat? Lewis talks to former party treasurer and donor, Lord Michael Spencer, about the direction for the party now. Later, crunch time for Joe Biden - will his own party really seek to remove him before the week is done?Editor: Tom HughesSenior Producer: Gabriel RadusProducer: Zeynel Yuce & Natalie IndgeSocial Media Editor: Georgia FoxwellVideo Production: Rory Symon, Shane Fennelly & Arvind BadewalYou 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/https://store.global.com/collections/the-news-agents

Last night the final exit polls of the French election were revealed to a collective stunned gasp. The far-right RN party of Marine Le Pen - and Jordan Bardella - is in third place. Macron's centrist grouping is in second place - but the dominant bloc emerging is a collective of radical left parties - with the controversial figurehead of Jean-Luc Melenchon at its helm. Macron's PM has stayed on -for now - as caretaker. But there is a collective political fog over the shape of France’s next parliament. Has Macron's gamble paid off? Macron will argue he kept fascism at bay - but for how long? Later, what will Labour's planning changes mean for young people trying to buy houses? Can it work? And how does the Speaker of the house learn 334 brand new MP's names... by next week?Editor: Tom HughesSenior Producer: Gabriel RadusProducer: Zeynel Yuce & Natalie IndgeSocial Media Editor: Georgia FoxwellVideo Production: Rory Symon, Shane Fennelly & Arvind BadewalYou 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/https://store.global.com/collections/the-news-agents

Now that PM Sir Keir Starmer has assembled his first cabinet, the first Labour cabinet in 14 years - who are the people now running the country? What will they do?Just hours after becoming the Official Opposition, the Tories turn to their next task - who will be their next leader? Contenders have already started to hit the airwaves. And the second round in France as the far-right National Rally edge closer to parliamentary power.Editor: Tom HughesSenior Producer: Gabriel RadusVideo Production: Rory Symon, Shane Fennelly, Arvind BadewalYou 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/https://store.global.com/collections/the-news-agents