Israel’s prime minister Binyamin Netanyahu has declared war on Hamas after the military group launched an attack from Gaza, killing hundreds of civilians and taking hostages. Israel has struck back and ordered a ‘complete siege’ of the enclave. In this special episode James Harding is joined by political scientist Yascha Mounk, Basia Cummings and Giles Whittell to make sense of the Hamas attack and where it might lead. Yascha also talks to James about his new book ‘The Identity Trap'. For the pr...
Oct 09, 2023•39 min•Ep. 62
What should lead the news? Three people pitch the story they think matters most to James Harding. In this episode he’s joined by BBC News and Mastermind presenter Clive Myrie, Jess Winch and Jeevan Vasagar to discuss HS2, whether we’re covering migration stories properly and the case of soldier Jaysley Beck, who took her own life after relentless sexual harassment by one of her bosses. What do you think should lead the news? Email your stories to [email protected] . The producer was ...
Oct 06, 2023•34 min•Ep. 61
What should lead the news? Three people pitch the story they think matters most to Basia Cummings. In this episode she is joined by Tortoise political editor Cat Neilan, deputy editor Giles Whittell and barrister Hashi Mohamed. They discuss what’s happening at Conservative party conference, water companies wanting to put up bills and the victory of a pro-Russia party in Slovakia. What do you think should lead the news? Email your stories to [email protected] . The producer was Rebecc...
Oct 02, 2023•33 min•Ep. 60
What should lead the news? Three people pitch the story they think matters most to Giles Whittell. In this episode he’s joined by comedian Andy Hamilton and Tortoise editors Basia Cummings and Jess Winch to discuss Suella Braverman’s speech about migration, the Portuguese young people taking countries to court and why we’re taking more sick days. It was recorded in front of an audience in the Tortoise newsroom. Click here to book tickets for the next News Meeting Live on 25th October at 6.30pm. ...
Sep 29, 2023•30 min•Ep. 59
What should lead the news? Three people pitch the story they think matters most to Giles Whittell. In this episode he’s joined by Basia Cummings, Alexi Mostrous and Rachel Wolf from the new Tortoise podcast Trendy to discuss reported plans to scrap part of HS2, Osiris-Rex returning samples from an asteroid and Adidas’s new super-shoe. What do you think should lead the news? Email your stories to [email protected] . Listen to Trendy here . Book tickets for The News Meeting Live at 6.3...
Sep 25, 2023•28 min•Ep. 58
What should lead the news? Three people pitch the story they think matters most to James Harding. In this episode he’s joined by Steven Pinker, Harvard professor and author of Enlightenment Now, who criticises the news machine. Plus the team discusses whether Prince William reached a secret out of court settlement with Rupert Murdoch and News Group over phone hacking and Canada’s diplomatic row with India. What do you think should lead the news? Email your stories to newsmeeting@tortoiseme...
Sep 22, 2023•35 min•Ep. 57
What should lead the news? Three people pitch the story they think matters most to Basia Cummings. In this episode she’s joined by Giles Whittell, Jeevan Vasagar and Coco Khan from Pod Save The UK to discuss the accusations against Russell Brand, flooding in Libya and the American XL bully ban. What do you think should lead the news? Email your stories to [email protected] . For more from Coco Khan you can listen to Pod Save The UK here . The producer was Rebecca Moore and the execut...
Sep 18, 2023•37 min•Ep. 56
What should lead the news? Three people pitch the story they think matters most to Tortoise editor James Harding. In this episode he’s joined by former Bank of England chief economist Andy Haldane who offers his assessment of the UK economy. Cat Neilan and Jeevan Vasagar discuss Keir Starmer beginning to set out his stall in two Murdoch-owned papers and Bernard Looney's resignation from BP. What do you think should lead the news? Email your stories to newsmeeting@to...
Sep 15, 2023•29 min•Ep. 55
What should lead the news? Three people pitch the story they think matters most to Tortoise editor James Harding. In this episode he’s joined by Tortoise editors Jess Winch and Jeevan Vasagar, and The Critic’s parliamentary sketchwriter Robert Hutton. They discuss the researcher arrested over alleged spying for China, Woking council cutting services and efforts to reduce global warming. What do you think should lead the news? Email your stories to [email protected] . The producer was...
Sep 11, 2023•28 min•Ep. 54
What should lead the news? Three people pitch the story they think matters most to Tortoise editor James Harding. In this episode he’s joined by Tortoise editors Giles Whittell and Keith Blackmore, and special guest, world news broadcaster Yalda Hakim. They discuss new music from The Rolling Stones, the difference between Melania Trump and Olena Zelenska, and Toyota’s plans to build fuel cells. What do you think should lead the news? Email your stories to [email protected] . The...
Sep 08, 2023•30 min•Ep. 53
In this special episode of The News Meeting, James Harding is joined by Merope Mills, the mother of 13-year-old Martha who died unnecessarily from sepsis, and Polly Curtis from Demos, who are campaigning for “Martha’s rule” - the right to call for a second opinion - to understand how to make the change happen. You can listen to Merope Mills speaking with Mishal Husain on BBC Radio 4’s Today Programme here: https://pod.fo/e/1ea721 What do you think should lead the news? Email your stories ...
Sep 07, 2023•26 min•Ep. 52
What should lead the news? Three people pitch the story they think matters most to Tortoise editor James Harding. In this episode he’s joined by Tortoise editors Basia Cummings, Jeevan Vasagar and Giles Whittell. They discuss the risk of collapsing schools, an EU report on Kremlin disinformation and why the parents of Martha Mills, who died from sepsis, are campaigning for patients to have the right to a second opinion if they have concerns about care. You can listen to Martha's mother, Merope M...
Sep 04, 2023•29 min•Ep. 51
What should lead the news? Three people pitch the story they think matters most to Tortoise editor James Harding. In this episode he’s joined by Ceri Thomas and Giles Whittell, and the Financial Times’s US Financial editor Brooke Masters. They discuss the ULEZ expansion, Gina Raimondo’s trip to China and massive pandemic relief fraud. What do you think should lead the news? Email your stories to [email protected] . The producer was Rebecca Moore and the executive producer was L...
Sep 01, 2023•31 min•Ep. 50
What should lead the news? Three people pitch the story they think matters most to Tortoise editor James Harding. In this episode he’s joined by Jess Winch, Keith Blackmore and former culture secretary Ben Bradshaw who used to be the BBC’s Berlin correspondent. The team discuss the thefts from the British Museum, Manchester United’s Mason Greenwood u-turn and the Republican presidential candidates. What do you think should lead the news? Email your stories to [email protected] . The ...
Aug 25, 2023•32 min•Ep. 49
In this special episode of The News Meeting the team discuss what Yevgeny Prigozhin’s reported death means for Vladimir Putin, the Wagner Group, Ukraine and the West. James Harding is joined by Tortoise editors Giles Whittell, who was Moscow correspondent for The Times, and Basia Cummings, who reported on Prigozhin for an episode of the Slow Newscast called Wagner’s war. You can listen to that episode here . What do you think should lead the news? Email your stories to newsmeeting@tortoisemedia....
Aug 24, 2023•24 min•Ep. 48
What should lead the news? Three people pitch the story they think matters most to Tortoise editor James Harding. In this episode he’s joined by Keith Blackmore, Cat Neilan and Giles Whitell. The team discuss the Women’s World Cup final, the sentencing of Lucy Letby and Donald Trump’s refusal to attend the first Republican primary debate. What do you think should lead the news? Email your stories to [email protected] . The producer was Rebecca Moore and the executive producer w...
Aug 21, 2023•28 min•Ep. 47
What should lead the news? Three people pitch the story they think matters most to Tortoise editor James Harding. In this episode he’s joined by Alexi Mostrous, Cat Neilan and former US ambassador Matthew Barzun. The team discuss the ongoing impact of the PSNI data breach, Elon Musk’s unchecked power and faltering efforts to give Afghan refugees certainty about their new lives in the US. What do you think should lead the news? Email your stories to [email protected] . The produ...
Aug 18, 2023•34 min•Ep. 46
What should lead the news? Three people pitch the story they think matters most to Tortoise editor James Harding. In this episode he’s joined by Basia Cummings, Giles Whittell and Will Brown. The team discuss whether there could be military intervention in Niger, King Charles’s 45% pay rise and the mountaineers criticised for continuing their ascent after finding a dying guide. What do you think should lead the news? Email your stories to [email protected] . The producer was Patricia...
Aug 14, 2023•35 min•Ep. 45
What should lead the news? Three people pitch the story they think matters most to Tortoise editor James Harding. In this episode he’s joined by Giles Whittell, Jess Winch and special guest Zelda Perkins. Zelda was Harvey Weinstein’s personal assistant and is now a campaigner. She was one of the first women to break a non-disclosure agreement after she signed one with Harvey Weinstein. She’s the co-founder of Can’t Buy My Silence . The team discuss claims of “bullying, discrimination and harassm...
Aug 11, 2023•34 min•Ep. 44
What should lead the news? Three journalists pitch the story they think matters most to James Harding. In this episode he’s joined by Basia Cummings, Jeevan Vasagar and Jess Winch. They discuss the jailing of Imran Khan in Pakistan, two Canadian men who discovered they were switched at birth and dozens of swimmers getting sick at the world triathlon championship. James also wonders what to make of Rishi Sunak What do you think should lead the news? Email your stories to newsmeeting@tortois...
Aug 07, 2023•32 min•Ep. 43
Giles Whittell and the team discuss the latest charges against Donald Trump, assisted dying and wild camping returning to Dartmoor. What should lead the news? Three journalists pitch the story they think matters most to Giles Whittell. They discuss the latest charges against Donald Trump, assisted dying and wild camping returning to Dartmoor. We also hear from a listener about our coverage of the coup in Niger. What do you think should lead the news? Email your stories to newsmeeting@tortoisemed...
Aug 04, 2023•27 min•Ep. 42
What should lead the news? Three journalists pitch the story they think matters most to Liz Moseley. They discuss Rishi Sunak’s new carbon capture scheme in the North Sea, the coup in Niger and the death of Rianna Cleary’s baby in prison. Get in touch to tell us about the stories we missed. Email [email protected] . The producer was Rebecca Moore and the executive producer was Lewis Vickers. For the premium Tortoise listening experience, curated by our journalists, downlo...
Jul 31, 2023•32 min•Ep. 41
What should lead the news? Three journalists pitch the story they think matters most to Tortoise's deputy editor Giles Whittell. They discuss a new law that curtails the power of Israel's Supreme Court, Nigel Farage’s war on Coutts and whether the Gulf Stream will really collapse by 2025. They also find time to talk about the US congressional hearings on UFOs. Get in touch to tell us about the story you think should lead the news. Email [email protected] . The producer was Rebecca Mo...
Jul 28, 2023•35 min•Ep. 40
In this episode Liz Moseley is in the editor’s chair. She’s joined by Tortoise editors Jess Winch, Cat Neilan and Ceri Thomas. They discuss the Russian attack that damaged Odesa cathedral, the fallout from last week’s by-elections and shocking failures at a young offender institution. Get in touch to tell us about the story you think should lead the news. Email [email protected] . The producer was Rebecca Moore and the executive producer was Lewis Vickers. For the premium Torto...
Jul 24, 2023•34 min•Ep. 39
In this episode, recorded in front of an audience in the Tortoise newsroom, James Harding is joined by Guardian columnist Gaby Hinsliff, Liz Moseley and Katie Gunning. The team discusses the row within Labour over Keir Starmer’s refusal to scrap the two-child benefit cap, Russia's withdrawal from the deal allowing Ukraine to safely export grain through the Black Sea, and the ongoing scandal over the treatment of Post Office workers affected by the Horizon IT system failure. Get in touch to...
Jul 21, 2023•35 min•Ep. 38
The team discusses the record-breaking heatwave in southern Europe, potential plans to scrap inheritance tax, and why Hollywood’s actors and writers are going on strike. James Harding also reflects on The Sun’s coverage of the Huw Edwards allegations. Get in touch to tell us about the story you think should lead the news. Email [email protected] . The producer was Rebecca Moore and the executive producer was Lewis Vickers. For the premium Tortoise listening experience, curated ...
Jul 17, 2023•33 min•Ep. 37
Basia Cummings is in the editor’s chair. She’s joined by Cat Neilan, Claudia Williams and Stephen Armstrong who pitch rising mortgage rates, migrant boats missing in the Atlantic and catastrophic weather in the US. Get in touch to tell us about the story you think should lead the news. Email [email protected] . The producer was Rebecca Moore and the executive producer was Lewis Vickers. For the premium Tortoise listening experience, curated by our journalists, download the free...
Jul 14, 2023•33 min•Ep. 36
In this special episode James Harding explores why the media is reluctant to name the BBC presenter accused of paying a teenager for explicit images. He’s joined by Pia Sarma, editorial legal director at Times newspapers, and former BBC home affairs correspondent Danny Shaw. Get in touch to tell us about the story you think should lead the news. Email [email protected] . For the premium Tortoise listening experience, curated by our journalists, download the free Tortoise audio app.&n...
Jul 11, 2023•24 min•Ep. 35
Before founding Tortoise James Harding was head of BBC News. In this episode he’s joined by journalists Liz Moseley, Will Brown and Ceri Thomas, a former editor of Radio 4’s Today programme, to discuss the scandal surrounding a BBC presenter and what it means for the corporation. They also cover the US government’s decision to send cluster bombs to Ukraine, and the links between the NHS and big pharma. Get in touch to tell us about the story you think should lead the news. Email newsmeetin...
Jul 10, 2023•34 min•Ep. 34
The team discusses Meta launching Threads to challenge Elon Musk’s Twitter, the billboard advertising an explicit OnlyFans account that sparked complaints and the UK edging closer to rejoining the EU’s Horizon programme. Get in touch to tell us about the story you think should lead the news. Email [email protected] . For the premium Tortoise listening experience, curated by our journalists, download the free Tortoise audio app. For early and ad-free access, subscribe to Tortois...
Jul 07, 2023•33 min•Ep. 33
