The News Agents

• Salman Rushdie on political violence, free speech and BBC "cowardice"

  Salman Rushdie has spent half of his life under the threat of death, but it is only in his latest novel - The Eleventh Hour - that he has devoted a whole book to the themes of mortality. It is his first return to fiction since an attempt on his life on 2022. This Friday, Rushdie joins Lewis and Jon in the studio to discuss his new book, political violence, and the "cowardice" of the BBC. The News Agents is brought to you by HSBC UK - https://www.hsbc.co.uk/EXCLUSIVE NordVPN Deal -> https://nordvpn.com/thenewsagents Try it risk-free now with a 30-day money-back guarantee

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• Weekend Edition: Q&A - Which rules should football steal from other sports? - The Sports Agents

  Can other sports teach football a thing or two? On today's show Gabby and Mark take your suggestions on how to fix football, using your passion for a massive range of sports. Plus, we look back at The Sports Agents this week: a huge interview with McLaren CEO Zak Brown as Lando Norris could win them the world title this weekend; and we talk about the elephant in the room at struggling Liverpool - grief. 📩 Got a question? Send it here: https://forms.gle/9SBbW1SYWqXLKnRT7💭 Tell us your thoughts in our listener survey: https://forms.gle/YMUvajQktqBuimgh6 🖥️ Watch our full episodes on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@SportsAgentsPod 📱Follow us on socials:TikTok - https://www.tiktok.com/@thesportsagents Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/thesportsagents/ X - https://x.com/sportsagentspod📥 Email: [email protected] Executive Producer: Adonis PratsidesProducer: Sophie PenneyVideo Producer: Sam Trudgill Social Media Editor: Calum ScotlandTom Hughes is Editor for The News Agents podcast networkVicky Etchells is the Commissioning Editor for GlobalYou can listen to this episode on Alexa - just say "Alexa, ask Global Player to play The Sports Agents".👕 The Sports Agents have merch! You can buy yours now: https://store.global.com/collections/the-sports-agents

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• Does Labour need to own its move to the Left?

  Keir Starmer and Rachel Reeves have been out defending their Budget - denying that the tax-raising measures contained within it break the Labour manifesto's promises around taxes on working people. Instead they have been trying to focus on the additional money for the NHS, lifting children out of poverty, and raises to the minimum wage. Yesterday's package of measures amounts to a fundamental shift in both the size of the State and the size of its tax take. It looks set to draw the political divide and define the political debate into the next election. So does Labour need to start making a better case about why it has moved the country in that direction? Jon and Lewis speak exclusively to Labour's deputy leader Lucy Powell. She broke ranks before the Budget to warn against the idea of raising income tax - how does she feel now?The News Agents is brought to you by HSBC UK - https://www.hsbc.co.uk/EXCLUSIVE NordVPN Deal -> https://nordvpn.com/thenewsagents Try it risk-free now with a 30-day money-back guarantee

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• Budget 2025: Has Reeves saved her job?

  This time last year, Rachel Reeves pledged that her tax raising Budget “wiped the slate clean” and would mean no more need for future tax raids. Today demonstrably proved what a hostage to fortune those comments were. As a result of the Chancellor’s statement today - shambolically accidentally leaked by the OBR before she had got to her feet - the tax burden is due to reach an all time high by the end of the decade. Due to her tax threshold freezes, one in four workers will pay the higher rate of income tax by 2030. There were unmistakably Labour themes in this Budget too - a mansion tax, the end of the two child benefit cap, betting firms also hit with further taxes. But is her calculation the right one? Will the voters stomach tax rises to pay for public services a ballooning welfare state? Or was this about securing her position in the party - if not the country? And what has happened to the Government’s mission for growth?Jon and Lewis speak to Torsten Bell, the Treasury minister and so-called ‘mastermind’ behind this Budget.The News Agents is brought to you by HSBC UK - https://www.hsbc.co.uk/EXCLUSIVE NordVPN Deal -> https://nordvpn.com/thenewsagents Try it risk-free now with a 30-day money-back guarantee

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• Are Trump's lawyers now controlling the BBC?

  Just a day after BBC bosses were in front of MPs to address impartiality concerns, and there's a fresh impartiality headache for the beleaguered broadcaster. Dutch historian Rutger Bregman, who'd been asked to give the prestigious Reith Lecture, today revealed that the BBC had removed a “key line” from his address. Bregman's claim that President Trump is “the most openly corrupt president in American history” was removed from the Radio 4 broadcast of his lecture. He's said today that he was informed that the decision to remove the accusation was taken at the “highest levels within the BBC”. The BBC has insisted the decision was taken on legal advice. So why was the line pulled? And is the threat of Donald Trump's legal action now influencing the editorial decisions of the BBC?Later, with Nigel Farage on the back foot over the allegations he made racist remarks as a schoolboy - does the Reform UK leader have a glass jaw?The News Agents is brought to you by HSBC UK - https://www.hsbc.co.uk/EXCLUSIVE NordVPN Deal -> https://nordvpn.com/thenewsagents Try it risk-free now with a 30-day money-back guarantee

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