Episode description

Today, we look at the news that the UK will increase defence spending to 2.5% of GDP by 2027.

The surprise announcement from Sir Keir Starmer comes ahead of his meeting with US President Donald Trump later this week. The increase will come at the expense of the UK’s foreign aid budget which will be cut by 0.2%. James and Alex explain how it will work.

Plus, James and Alex are joined by the former CEO of Music UK and political advisor Jamie Njoku-Goodwin and composer Max Richter to discuss the government’s proposals on AI in music.

You can now listen to Newscast on a smart speaker. If you want to listen, just say "Ask BBC Sounds to play Newscast”. It works on most smart speakers. You can join our Newscast online community here: https://discord.gg/NbuxWnmY

New episodes released every day. If you're in the UK, for more News and Current Affairs podcasts from the BBC, listen on BBC Sounds: https://bit.ly/3ENLcS1 Newscast brings you daily analysis of the latest political news stories from the BBC. It was presented by James Cook and Alex Forsyth. It was made by Jack Maclaren with Anna Harris and Teodora Agarici. The technical producer was Phil Bull. The assistant editor is Chris Gray. The editor is Sam Bonham.