What's behind the glut of politics podcasts? Hardly a month goes by without a new title being launched, competing with established brands like The New York Times’s The Daily and the wildly popular The Rest is Politics with Alastair Campbell and Rory Stewart. We talk to the team behind the latter about the secrets of its success, and the opportunities for journalists who want to break free of the strictures of traditional broadcasting. We also consider their appeal to politicians and reflect...

We explore how political scandals unfold across the media and the art of the 'get to know' interview with two journalists who recently interviewed Rishi Sunak. As one of the alleged subjects of the Netflix drama Baby Reindeer sues the streamer for defamation, negligence and privacy violations, we weigh the legal arguments. Also in the programme, new online reality TV formats and how they're challenging the primacy of broadcasters and we look at LGBT representation in Dr Who and BBC dating...

How do we gauge the power of newspapers in this election? Will press endorsements from the mainstream media prove decisive, or does power now stem from corners of the media that are harder to define, boosted by opaque social media algorithms? And as big tech increasingly squeezes the revenue and audiences of news outlets, we talk to the Editor of The Atlantic on how to make journalism pay. Andrew Neil, presenter, Times Radio; Caroline Waterston, Editor-in-Chief, The Mirror; Jeffrey Goldberg,...

A week into the election, we explore party control of the media message and the gaffes that happen when things go wrong. We hear live from the Labour battle bus, talk to Boris Johnson's former social media strategist and look at the way the different campaigns are crafting their message on TikTok. Guests: Shona Ghosh, Senior Editor, Bloomberg; Martha Lane Fox, former Board Member, Twitter/X; Katy Balls, Political Editor, The Spectator; Sean Topham, Co-Founder, Topham Guerin; Jessica...

At the end of this week Newsnight as we know it comes to an end. From Tuesday, its format will change – and it’ll be shorter too. To discuss the end of an era, Katie and Ros speak to an all-star Newsnight line up: Kirsty Wark, Peter Snow, Michael Crick. They're also joined by Professor Suzanne Franks, who researches changing broadcast news consumption. On Saturday, Oleksandr Usyk beat Tyson Fury to become boxing's undisputed heavyweight champion. The high-profile match was held in the...

Katie and Ros go inside the controversy about Netflix drama Baby Reindeer which has raised questions about the impact drama inspired by true events can have on real people. They’ll be helped by Piers Morgan who just interviewed one of the alleged subjects; Clive Coleman, legal expert and dramatist; and Chris Banatvala, former Head of Standards at Ofcom who can explain the rules for these kinds of productions. Also in the programme, ahead of the infected blood inquiry publishing its final...

US university campuses have been the scene of pro-Palestinian demonstrations over the last month. We assess the challenges of reporting the protests and hear why student journalists have been crucial to our understanding of the story. We also look at Israel’s ban of Al Jazeera where the government accuses it of being a mouthpiece for Hamas, a charge the network denies. Plus, what’s it like to cover the Met Gala? And how are the media strategies of political parties evolving as we approach a...

An information iron curtain has fallen across large parts of the globe, where access to impartial news reporting and information has never been more difficult. With the help of BBC specialists, Ros and Katie consider the impact of censorship and technological controls on Russia, Iran and China; how ingrained state disinformation has become and how it has distorted their citizens’ perception of the world. Our panel also look at attempts to circumvent internet blocking and state restrictions on...

Katie and Ros explore the place of creativity in modern media, from advertising to game show formats. They talk to the producers behind ITV’s The 1% Club and Channel 4’s Hunted. They’ll also hear about concerns over dating app Grindr’s use of user data and talk to media regulator Ofcom about new research into how audiences feel about politicians presenting current affairs programmes. Guests: Cristina Nicolotti Squires, Group Director, Ofcom; Decca Aitkenhead, Chief Interviewer, The Sunday...

Last week Dr Hilary Cass published her final report and recommendations to NHS England in her role as Chair of the Independent Review of gender identity services for children and young people.  The Cass report recommends a new approach for clinicians. But what might journalism do differently in the way it covers such a polarising subject?  We discuss with Hannah Barnes, the author of Time to Think: the Inside Story of the Collapse of the Tavistock’s Gender Service for Children ; and Rebecca...

The Executive Chairman of the Sky News Group, David Rhodes shares his plans for Sky News – and on his years as a senior TV news exec in New York. Elon Musk has predicted that AI will surpass human intelligence within a year. OpenAI and Meta have also said that they're on the brink of releasing new AI models that will be capable of reason and planning. What will be the impact of these advanced AI models on the news media? We're joined by Madhumita Murgia, the AI Editor at the Financial Times,...

British counter terrorism officers are investigating the stabbing last Friday of an Iranian TV host outside his home in London. Iran International presenter Pouria Zeraati was hospitalised, before being discharged and moving to a safe place under the supervision of the Metropolitan Police. We talk to British Iranian journalist Sima Sabet, who has also been targeted. Have US diplomats been targeted by Russian sonic weaponry? A joint report between The Insider, Der Spiegel and CBS's 60 Minutes...

Last week, the Princess of Wales announced that she is undergoing treatment for cancer. It was preceded by weeks of speculation about her whereabouts that went well into conspiracy territory. How exactly did conspiracy theories move from the fringes to the mainstream? And what are the responsibilities of the "mainstream media" when covering them? Also on the programme, BBC Radio 5 Live celebrates its 30th anniversary and what Tim Davie's speech means for the future of the BBC. Guests: Chris...

As the US Congress moves to ban TikTok on national security grounds, we ask could the UK follow? Elon Musk lured former CNN journalist Don Lemon to boost X's video credentials but the pair fell out after a recent interview. We find out why. Also on the programme, why the BBC has announced plans to move into UK podcast advertising and we explore what one journalist found when she downloaded all the data held on her after years of using Meta's services. Guests: Ciaran Martin, Professor,...

We discuss the controversial photo of the Princess of Wales and her children released by Kensington Palace on Sunday which was removed from circulation by photo agencies due to concerns it had been inappropriately edited. The story raises many questions about how images in the media are sourced, how they’re checked and how they’re distributed. We talk to press photographers, picture agencies and newspaper picture editors. Also in the programme, two developing stories concerning Tiktok and the...

Exclusive interview with one of Hollywood's most powerful executives

With the scandal still all over the front as well as the back pages, we explore what the Christian Horner allegations tell us about the challenges journalists face in holding sports leaders to account. TalkTV is moving to online only and GB News has been censured by Ofcom. We consider the successes and failures of both channels. Plus, as pictures of the Princess of Wales are published in the United States we hear why codes of behaviour among British journalists mean, despite being freely...

With Islamophobia, antisemitism, and threats against MPs all in the news, what role has the media itself played in stoking tensions? Also in the programme, as international broadcasters sign a letter calling for access to Gaza, what impact would that have on how the conflict is reported? Guests: Alex Crawford, Special Correspondent, Sky News; Caroline Wheeler, Political Editor, Sunday Times; Ayesha Hazarika, Columnist and Presenter, Times Radio; Tim Montgomerie, Columnist and Founder of...

Two years on from Russia's full scale invasion of Ukraine and in the week of the death of opposition leader Alexei Navalny, what have reports from the region taught us about journalism and its ability to inform and influence? Has Western reporting got Russia and Putin fundamentally wrong? Meanwhile, what's the state of journalism in Russia itself, after Putin's crackdown on independent news outlets? We talk to the journalists and experts following the conflict and hear the story of Novaya...

Last week Prince Harry settled his outstanding claims with the Mirror titles – but only after he took them to court – where a judge ruled the Prince had been the subject of extensive phone hacking by Mirror Group Newspapers. We explore the meaning of the verdict and the resulting settlement. Is traditional broadcast TV dead? Piers Morgan seems to think so – he’s leaving his nightly TV show and setting up shop on YouTube. Ben Smith from Semafor, who broke the story, joins us. Also on the...

Tucker Carlson, the former Fox News presenter, has travelled to Moscow to interview Russian President Vladimir Putin. What will both men hope to gain from the encounter? Also in the programme, Anushka Asthana on following Rishi Sunak for a new ITV programme, and the BBC's plans to launch four new music radio stations. Guests: Francis Scarr, Journalist, BBC Monitoring; Brian Stelter, Special Correspondent, Vanity Fair; Anushka Asthana, Deputy Political Editor, ITV News; Lorna Clarke, Director...

This week Channel 4 announced major job cuts, caused in part by a decline in the amount of advertising the channel sells to fund its programmes. We look at Channel 4's plans to become a 'digital first' organisation, as well as talking to leaders in the UK advertising industry about the problems they're currently facing. Also on the programme, what's behind the current air fryer cookery boom? Take a look at the UK non-fiction bestseller charts and you'll find multiple air fryer cookery books,...

Voters in New Hampshire have been getting phone messages apparently from Joe Biden urging them not to take part in the state's presidential primaries. How alarmed should we be about the potential for deepfakes to derail elections? We also talk about the world’s number one YouTuber, MrBeast and why Elon Musk was desperate to get him onto X. Also on the programme, we explore the government’s proposed reforms of the BBC and the political debates they have stirred. Guests: Jake Kanter,...

On the day the United States designates the Houthis as a terror group, we explore how the organisation hones its message through music, video and poetry on social media. Also on the programme, we hear an update on the sale of The Telegraph and The Spectator and what the success of the BBC reboot of Gladiators tells us about a resurgence of 'event TV'. Guests: Nic Robertson, International Diplomatic Editor, CNN; Chris Williams, Business Editor, The Telegraph; Hisham Al-Omeisy, Yemeni analyst...