This week on The Sports Agents , Brentford manager Thomas Frank tells us taking a big job like Manchester United wouldn't make his life better, in an exclusive interview. We also talk about the Bees' no d***heads policy, 'secret sauce' and Ivan Toney's gambling ban. Plus, your questions are answered by Gabby and Mark, who tell stories of meeting their hero in a urinal, singing to the England manager and an awkward encounter with Manchester United legend Eric Cantona . A North versus South compet...
Oct 26, 2024•25 min
The Tory party are down to the final two in another long contest for leader. It's an unusual contest with both Kemi Badenoch and Robert Jenrick coming from the right of the party. So, who are they? What do they believe? And how would they shape the Conservative Party after the worst defeat in its history? Editor: Tom Hughes Executive Producer: Louis Degenhardt Producer: Natalie Indge Digital Editor: Michaela Walters Social Media Editor: Georgia Foxwell Video Production: Rory Symon, Shane F...
Oct 25, 2024•40 min
We have an interview with Yulia Navalnaya, the wife of Alexei Navalny - the Russian opposition leader murdered in prison earlier this year by Putin's government. Why did he go back to Russia after his poisoning? And what did Putin make of his death? But we start in America with Kamala Harris who last night told a CNN town hall that yes, she agreed Trump was a fascist. The Democrats can't seem to decide how to play him - as a weirdo, an entertainer or a threat to Western Democracy. Are they strat...
Oct 24, 2024•42 min
Donald Trump's campaign has filed a Federal Election Commission complaint against - what sorry - the Labour party, accusing it of 'blatant foreign interference', for allowing volunteers to door knock in swing states for Kamala Harris. The story either goes back to a linked in post by a labour staffer offering volunteers free accommodation in North Carolina, or it goes back to a longer standing row that Trump's mate Elon Musk has with Keir Starmer. Farage is out of the traps calling it an 'insult...
Oct 23, 2024•35 min
Twenty four hours after a jury cleared sergeant Martyn Blake of all charges relating to the murder of Chris Kaba, the questions have only intensified. Why did this case ever come to court? What did the CPS know that made them think he’d be found guilty? And how does Chris Kaba’s family now respond to the not guilty verdict? At the heart of this story is a question of trust that has fallen apart - between the police and the public. Between the senior management and the rank and file and between w...
Oct 22, 2024•34 min
Why is Elon Musk offering voters in Pennsylvania the chance to win a million pounds a day by registering to vote? Well, we can all probably work out the answer. He's Trump's number 1 fanboy and reckons he has a lot to gain if he can swing this swing state to make Trump president. Democrats are trying to work out if it constitutes election interference - and whether they realistically have a chance of fighting it in court. Meanwhile, closer to home, the Moldovan president reckons the Russians wer...
Oct 21, 2024•28 min
This week on The Sports Agents , England named German coach Thomas Tuchel as the man to lead the Three Lions to World Cup glory - but does his nationality matter more than how good a manager he is? German football writer Raphael Honigstein , joined Gabby & Mark to explore... How do clubs actually unearth the best talent? Old-school scouting prowess or new-age AI-infused data? We debate it out with former Brentford, QPR and Rangers manager, Mark Warburton , and the 'data-brain' behind Liverpo...
Oct 19, 2024•25 min
Will this be the most gendered election ever? How late should you stay up to watch the results? And who do Jon and Lewis think will win? With less than three weeks to go to the US election, we answer your most pressing questions. 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 & Jacob P...
Oct 18, 2024•39 min
Kamala Harris has been trying to reach the parts of America that Democrats dont easily reach. Her latest foray was on Fox News in a sit-down interview with Bret Baier. She called the network out for failing to correct Donald Trump's falsehood on his election loss. But she struggled more when she had to differentiate herself from Joe Biden, and their past record. Did it work as a strategy? Later, leaked ministerial letters of complaint and budgetary stalemate. Is Rachel Reeves facing the usual de...
Oct 17, 2024•29 min
Tory leadership ballots have now gone out - and Conservative members must now chose if they want Kemi Badenoch or Robert Jenrick to lead their party. Unusually, both candidates come from the same wing of the party - the right - which begs the question, is there a genuine path for them to win over a wider electorate? We speak to the man spearheading the movement to find the Tories their route back to power, Grant Shapps. Later, why are we horrified to discover our Prime Minister spent ten minutes...
Oct 16, 2024•32 min
What exactly is a 'working person'? At the heart of that question is the answer to whether or not you think Labour has fudged its promise not to put up taxes in the budget in two weeks. Yesterday the Prime Minister refused to rule out increasing the national insurance contribution employers pay on their staff - having promised 'no increases on income tax, VAT or NI for WORKING PEOPLE'. So are they breaking an election promise? And will it damage trust if they do? Later, we talk to Graham Brady, ...
Oct 15, 2024•39 min
Last month Germany suspended free movement at some of its borders, citing growing migration concerns. Critics of the move believe it’s dealt a body blow to the integrity of the European project, leading to an angry outburst from Poland’s PM - and former European Council President - Donald Tusk about “unfair unilateral” action from a fellow EU member state. This weekend, however, Poland followed suit and has threatened to suspend the right to asylum in the country. Tusk believes Vladimir Putin is...
Oct 14, 2024•34 min
This week on The Sports Agents , Gabby & Mark Pougatch welcomed ex-Formula One Team Principle at Haas, Guenther Steiner , to talk about swearing and the unexpected F1 title race, with a bonus question for our weekend listeners. And after Rafa Nadal announced his retirement during our recording, tennis presenter Marcus Buckland helped us pay tribute to the tennis great. Plus we quizzed one of the UK’s top sports lawyers and Partner at Sheridans, Daniel Geey , on the landmark ruling in the leg...
Oct 12, 2024•26 min
Less than a week ago, the woman who was supposed to ease Labour's passage into government, Sue Gray, left her job as Chief of Staff following mounting pressure and rumours of fallouts behind the scenes. Her replacement is Morgan McSweeney - now the most powerful man in politics that you've probably never heard of. The architect of Labour’s election victory, Starmer’s campaign manager, and now his main man in Downing Street. So, who is Morgan McSweeney? What motivates him? And what kind of power ...
Oct 11, 2024•42 min
Lewis, Jon and Emily have all been speaking to various Tory MPs either running the campaigns or voting in the leadership race. Together we work out what actually happened behind the scenes, and the buyers regret some are now feeling. Later, Yuval Noah Harari, author of Sapiens and now Nexus, on why information and truth are two completely different things. And lastly, the GetJimAJingle campaign reaps succulent rewards from our listeners. Editor: Tom Hughes Producer: Natalie Indge Digital Editor:...
Oct 10, 2024•38 min
It's very rare you see the News Agents speechless. But today is one of those rare moments. James Cleverly, Tory MPs favourite as of yesterday has just been knocked out of the leaders race by Kemi Badenoch and Robert Jenrick. You can hear from our voices, that we spend the entire episode trying to work out what on earth has happened. Did Team Cleverly's maths go wrong? Did MPs have a sudden change of heart over the direction of the party? And what does it mean for what happens to the Tory party n...
Oct 09, 2024•24 min
Elon Musk has linked up with Donald Trump on the campaign trail - visiting Butler Pennsylvania and speaking to the crowds on the very spot Trump was targeted by a sniper back in July. He's parroting the Trump lines - calling this the last election ever if Trump loses - and offering people 47 dollars to sign up swing voters in key states. Is it bribery? Is it legal? Does anyone care? Later, will Labour's recent fiasco push Reeves to be bolder in her budget? Will she choose to borrow billions to i...
Oct 08, 2024•38 min
Sue Gray's resignation might have come as a surprise to some but as rumours swirled about mounting hostility towards her inside Number 10, her departure was inevitable. So, what will her exit mean for Keir Starmer? And what does the latest shake up in No 10 reveal about the mood behind the scenes? And, 12 months on from the 7th October attacks in Israel, we ask whether we're any closer to peace in the Middle East? Editor: Tom Hughes Producer: Natalie Indge Digital Editor: Michaela Walters Social...
Oct 07, 2024•35 min
This week on The Sports Agents , Gabby & Mark asked former Chelsea talisman Frank Lampard for his thoughts on their current one - Cole Palmer - but is he the best player in the Premier League right now? Plus, Sam Burgess was among our guests as we explored whether the only way to save Rugby was to reunite the two codes! And after Liverpool's Ibrahima Konate questioned why he hadn't received the Player of the Match award last weekend, we explained how (and who) actually decides... Got a quest...
Oct 05, 2024•24 min
After eight years as North America Editor Jon returned home to the UK, but things weren't quite as he had left them. In his book, Strangeland, Jon recounts what it was like in the US, looking back to the UK - and the strange feeling when he returned home to realise that either Britain had changed, or he had. Lewis sits down with Jon to discuss just how much the British political landscape has changed over the past 10 years. Editor: Tom Hughes Producer: Natalie Indge Digital Editor: Michaela Walt...
Oct 04, 2024•36 min
The Labour freebies story “broke“ over a month ago. Yet last night whilst Keir Starmer was meeting with Ursula von der Leyen in Brussels he found himself fielding questions about what free stuff he was handing back after agreeing to repay 6k. Why is Labour being so weird about this? Does it tell us something more about labours naïveté? Or perhaps their unreadiness for government? Or is the media environment just a whole lot more complicated since they were last in power. Later, new documents hav...
Oct 03, 2024•33 min
Overnight nearly 180 missiles were targeted at Israel by Iran - revenge for the killing of Hizbollah leader, Nasrallah, last week. Western governments have offered their help to Israel - calling it an existential fight for survival. What will Israel do next? How long will their invasion of Lebanon go on? Is Russia involved and was the assassination of Nasrallah helped by an insider? All these questions...Luckily, Mark Urban is at hand. Later in the show, the Tories are wrapping up their conferen...
Oct 02, 2024•34 min
Overnight Israeli began its ground war in Lebanon. They’re targeting Hezbollah but inevitably ordinary Lebanese citizens will pay a heavy price. Iran, which backs Hezbollah, has said it may strike Israel in retaliation. How should western leaders respond to this escalation? And how can it end? We speak to Shadow Foreign Secretary, Andrew Mitchell. Later, have the Tories found their new Brexit? Why is Robert Jenrick promising that leaving the ECHR can solve immigration (it can’t)? And why aren’t ...
Oct 01, 2024•37 min
The Tories suffered their worst electoral defeat for a hundred and fifty years in July. So why are they so upbeat this conference? Today we introduce you to the four remaining candidates for party leader - frontrunner Robert Jenrick, Kemi Badenoch, James Cleverly and Tom Tugendhat - and ask the biggest question of all. Why does Liz Truss still believe she can save Western Civilization? Tickets are now on sale for The News Agents 'live on stage' at The Royal Albert Hall on Sunday December 1st. Bu...
Sep 30, 2024•36 min
This week on The Sports Agents , We were joined by an array of brilliant guests to assess Anthony Joshua 's shock defeat at Wembley and what's turning into a fierce rivalry between Arsenal and Man City . Later in the week, what finally feels like the end of the Everton takeover saga was in sharp focus. Gabby & Mark wanted to find out who the prospective new owners - The Friedkin Group - really are and why they've become so unpopular in Rome? New episodes every Tuesday and Thursday....
Sep 28, 2024•17 min
What is your biggest journalistic regret? Should a Prime Minister's spouse get an allowance? And what does 'middle class' mean in America? Thank you all for some BRILLIANT questions. The answers take us down some very strange alleys indeed... Tickets are now on sale for The News Agents 'live on stage' at The Royal Albert Hall on Sunday December 1st. Buy yours from Global Player at the link below. https://app.af.globalplayer.com/Br0x/7ggnmqw4 Editor: Tom Hughes Producer: Natalie Indge Digital Edi...
Sep 27, 2024•32 min
Keir Starmer has tried to shake off further accusations that he's indulged in freebies from a Labour donor by pointing out how many in the media do it too. What does this row tell us about the relationship between politicians and the public purse, and the part the media plays in creating that sense of injustice? Are we happy to hunt down every penny gifted - albeit publicly declared - in the quest for 'cleaner politics'? Or will we just invite comparisons that ANYONE in public life is 'all the s...
Sep 26, 2024•38 min
The Prime minister has arrived in New York and called on British citizens to evacuate Lebanon after Israeli missiles targetting Hezbollah left more than 550 dead in one day. Who are Hezbollah? Where did this war begin? We talk to the historian James Barr about the strange paramilitary army that is sewn into the society of Southern Lebanon. Later, Labour lose their first conference vote over winter fuel - UNITE union are triumphant. And... stay with us to the end for a special guest appearance. N...
Sep 25, 2024•27 min
Keir Starmer made an hour long speech with the one funny moment carefully tucked away 55 minutes in. It was the first conference speech from a Labour prime minister for 15 years, and the hall went wild for every mention of the victory they’d just witnessed. But after that? What was there? A promise from the Prime Minister to restore trust in politics again and make people see it as a force for good. Is the country in the mood to do that? We talk to health secretary Wes Streeting and look at the ...
Sep 24, 2024•35 min
As protesters were wrangled off the conference floor, The Chancellor reminded her audience they were not a party of protest but a party of power. They’re now IN power. But Labour’s timetable has created a vacuum into which bad headlines have been allowed to dominate. Are these early teething problems or does it tell us something more structural about a lack of vision? We talk to Chief Secretary to the Treasury, Darren Jones, and Tom Baldwin, Starmer's biographer. And we hear from Gary Neville on...
Sep 23, 2024•37 min
