The News Agents
Three high-profile ex-BBC journalists explain the 'why' behind the daily UK and global political headlines.
A daily audio briefing on British and international politics from three journalists who recently left the BBC's highest ranks. The show combines the polish of broadcast news with the freedom of the podcasting format, allowing for more direct analysis and personality. It often reacts in real-time to major political events, like leadership changes, offering insider context gleaned from decades in Westminster and Washington.
“The show's authority comes directly from its hosts, three well-known journalists who traded BBC impartiality for the ability to offer more pointed analysis. Their established chemistry and access to high-level guests create a uniquely informed yet conversational daily political digest.”
Who hosts this show
Emily Maitlis, Jon Sopel, and Lewis Goodall, three of the UK's top journalists, host the award-winning daily news podcast, The News Agents. After leaving senior roles at the BBC, they created the show to provide astute analysis and deeper explanation of the day's news. The podcast, a Global Player Original, promises healthy scepticism and the ability to laugh at events when needed.
Credentials & credits
- Emily Maitlis: Former lead anchor of BBC Newsnight, author of 'Airhead'.
- Jon Sopel: Former BBC North America Editor, author of multiple books on politics.
- Lewis Goodall: Former Policy Editor for BBC Newsnight, author of 'Left for Dead?'.
- Emily Maitlis: BA from Queens' College, Cambridge.
- Jon Sopel: Graduate of University of Southampton, honorary doctorate.
- Lewis Goodall: Degree in History and Politics from St John's College, Oxford.
Other ventures
- The News Agents: USA (spin-off podcast).
- The Sports Agents (spin-off podcast).
- The News Agents Investigates (spin-off podcast).
- Persephonica (Production Company).
- The News Agents Live On Stage (live event).
What kind of podcast
- Format
- News
- Country
- United Kingdom
- Region
- uk
When new episodes drop
- 01
- 02How will Burnham deal with Trump? | The News AgentsJun 25, 2026 · 41 min
- 03Zohran Mamdani: The Democrats' new power broker? | The News AgentsJun 24, 2026 · 40 min
- 04Is Kemi Badenoch too brutal for her own good? | The News AgentsJun 24, 2026 · 43 min
- 05What will Burnham's Britain actually look like? | The News AgentsJun 23, 2026 · 39 min
- 06
Notable episodes
- 01Starmer quits: Has Burnham just pulled off the greatest heist in politics?
Covers the immediate fallout of a dramatic, hypothetical change in UK leadership, showcasing the show's reactive and analytical nature.
- 02Zohran Mamdani: The Democrats' new power broker?
Features a high-profile guest (Ben Rhodes) and demonstrates the show's coverage of US politics and rising political figures.
- 03Q&A special: Burnham's coup, his future cabinet and "duplicitous" colleagues
Highlights the show's audience interaction format and its focus on answering listener questions about ongoing political sagas.
What you'll be asked on this show
The format is a conversational roundtable between two or three of the hosts, often including audio clips from politicians and news reports. Episodes frequently begin with the hosts introducing themselves with the signature phrase, 'It's Maitlis. It's Jon. It's Lewis.' The show also produces special Q&A episodes responding to listener questions.
Questions the host keeps coming back to
- “How will Donald Trump play [a new leader]?”
- “How will [a new leader] respond to Donald Trump?”
- “Do you think [the party] played the 'replace the leader' card too early?”
- “What is it about [a politician's] touch that just keeps on making things happen?”
- “Does [a rising politician] now represent the shape of what the party's presidential candidate should look like?”
- “Do you still believe the arc of the moral universe bends towards justice?”
- “Is it time to 'chuck Chuck' (Schumer)?”
- “Is the relentless 24/7 news cycle part of the reason Prime Ministers no longer survive full terms?”
Signature segments
- · Host introductions: 'It's Jon. It's Maitlis. It's Lewis.'
- · Q&A Specials
- · Branded intro and outro sequences
Topics covered repeatedly
Who gets booked here
Guests are typically high-level political figures, former government officials, and expert authors who can provide deep, specific analysis on the day's main topic, such as former Deputy National Security Advisor Ben Rhodes.
- Ben Rhodeson Zohran Mamdani: The Democrats' new power broker? | The News Agents
Where to find this show
Audience & reach
The podcast is sponsored by HSBC UK Commercial Banking, HSBC Private Bank, and is promoted as a Global Player Original.
Subscriber and view counts are pulled live from YouTube and re-verified on a 30-day cycle. Listener estimates for the RSS feed aren't published here unless they're host-verified.
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People also ask
- Who are the hosts of The News Agents?
- The hosts are Emily Maitlis (former BBC Newsnight lead anchor), Jon Sopel (former BBC North America Editor), and Lewis Goodall (former BBC Newsnight Policy Editor).
- How often are new episodes released?
- The News Agents is a daily podcast, with new episodes released every weekday afternoon.
- Why did the hosts leave the BBC?
- The hosts left the BBC to join Global and launch the podcast, seeking more editorial freedom than the BBC's impartiality rules allowed.
- What is the format of the show?
- It is a daily news analysis show, typically featuring a conversation between the hosts about the day's biggest political stories, sometimes with an expert guest.
- Where can I listen to The News Agents?
- The podcast is available on Global Player and all major podcast platforms. Full video episodes are also available on YouTube.
- Are there any spin-off shows?
- Yes, the team also produces 'The News Agents: USA', 'The News Agents Investigates', and 'The Sports Agents'.
Built from the show's public RSS feed, YouTube, the host's own websites, and the cited sources below. Computed and AI-extracted fields are labelled. Facts only — no private info, no fabrication, no transcripts republished.
Sources & how this page was built
This page is AI-assisted, grounded in the public sources cited below, and host-verifiable. We publish facts only; we do not republish transcripts. If anything here is wrong, the host can claim and correct the page above.Model: gemini-2.5-pro · high confidence
- [01]The News Agents - Official Websitethenewsagents.co.uk
- [02]The News Agents - Wikipediaen.wikipedia.org
- [03]The News Agents - Global Playerglobalplayer.com
- [04]Emily Maitlis - Wikipediaen.wikipedia.org
- [05]Jon Sopel - Wikipediaen.wikipedia.org
- [06]Lewis Goodall - Wikipediaen.wikipedia.org
- [07]Emily Maitlis - Penguin Bookspenguin.co.uk
- [08]Jon Sopel - The Blair Partnershiptheblairpartnership.com
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