{"podcast":{"title":"The News Agents","slug":"the-news-agents-5644592","podcast_index_feed_id":5644592,"rss_url":"https://feeds.captivate.fm/the-news-agents/","website_url":"https://www.thenewsagents.co.uk/","image_url":"https://artwork.captivate.fm/58f6e4cb-452b-498a-aa9f-f2712f51923b/BwI612Bfc8clOS-joY07s7rz.jpg","author":"Global","episode_count":1172,"summary":"Emily Maitlis, Jon Sopel and Lewis Goodall – three of the UK’s top journalists – host an award-winning daily news podcast: The News Agents. They’re not just here to tell you what's happening, but why. Expect astute analysis and explanation of the day's news – and a healthy dose of scepticism and the ability to laugh at it all when needed. Episodes are available every weekday afternoon. You can listen to The News Agents on Alexa, just say \"Alexa ask Global Player to play The News Agents\" The News Agents is a Global Player Original podcast. For advertising opportunities on this podcast, email: GlobalStudiosSales@global.com You can visit our website here https://www.thenewsagents.co.uk/","last_synced_at":"2026-07-24T04:19:35.907561+00:00","page_url":"https://stenobird.com/podcast/the-news-agents-5644592"},"episode":{"title":"SPECIAL REPORT: An election like no other in Birmingham","slug":"special-report-an-election-like-no-other-in-birmingham","published_at":"2026-05-07T16:28:00+00:00","page_url":"https://stenobird.com/podcast/the-news-agents-5644592/special-report-an-election-like-no-other-in-birmingham","show_page_url":"https://stenobird.com/podcast/the-news-agents-5644592","url":"https://www.thenewsagents.co.uk/","audio_url":"https://episodes.captivate.fm/episode/5296cb3d-97db-4941-8832-040f40caa0f5.mp3?aw_0_1st.showid=c49390b9-6909-4cd3-a974-e270cf686f27&aw_0_1st.episodeid=5296cb3d-97db-4941-8832-040f40caa0f5","summary":"It’s polling day in elections across Great Britain. Labour is braced for a battering, at the hands of insurgent forces on every side. Birmingham is a microcosm of that picture: an unloved Labour administration dealing with complex problems and complex politics. But here it’s not just the Greens and Reform the party must contend with, but the rise of the so-called Gaza independents. A new political force appealing largely to British Muslims who, like everyone else, are disatissfied with the status quo. Is this really a new sectarian politics, as the newspapers suggest? And if it is - should we be concerned about who is propelling those forces? With the control of the biggest local authority in Europe up for grabs, Lewis has gone home to England’s second city to find out. The News Agents is brought to you by HSBC UK - https://www.hsbc.co.uk/","meta_description":"It’s polling day in elections across Great Britain. Labour is braced for a battering, at the hands of insurgent forces on every side. Birmingham is a micr…","key_points":[],"chapters":[],"topics":[],"duration_seconds":2819,"processing_state":"not_requested","actions":[{"name":"request_transcript","method":"POST","url":"https://stenobird.com/v1/public/podcasts/the-news-agents-5644592/episodes/special-report-an-election-like-no-other-in-birmingham/transcription-requests","description":"Idempotently request low-priority transcript generation for this episode."},{"name":"read_markdown","method":"GET","url":"https://stenobird.com/podcast/the-news-agents-5644592/special-report-an-election-like-no-other-in-birmingham.md","description":"Read the agent-friendly Markdown representation of this episode resource."}]}}