The News Agents
4.3/5
Critic Rating
1.0/5
Listener Rating
Emily Maitlis, Jon Sopel and Lewis Goodall – three of the UK’s top journalists – host a 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. The News Agents is a Global Player Original podcast and a Persephonica production. The News Agent podcast is brought to you by BT. BT means business - visit business.bt.com to find out how we can help...
Critic Reviews
Score: 4.5
Patricia Nicol • The Times UK • Oct 23, 2022
"I had initial misgivings about over-chumminess and an imbalance between presenters. Now the nicknames have (mostly) gone and Goodall feels like a full co-presenter. I was also sceptical about the approach of dropping episodes just as near to 5pm as could be managed. But in chaotic times, this lack of being tied to a schedule pays dividends."
Score: 4
James Marriot • The Times UK • Oct 21, 2022
"It’s now very much improved. I listen every day. Sopel, Maitlis and fellow BBC evacuee Lewis Goodall offer an efficient, opinionated, waspish summary of the day’s news. It’s eminently worth your time. A really great podcast should be more ambitious. I’m hoping future episodes will get away from Westminster."
Score: 4.5
Daisy Dunn • The Spectator • Sep 10, 2022
"The intimacy of the format makes it the perfect conduit for in-depth analysis you will actually take in. The News Agents stretches this idea by layering interviews and commentary in a sophisticated, almost book-like manner, which rewards close listening. The News Agents retains the wide panorama of a news programme, while sinking its teeth into the small print."
Score: 4.3
Miranda Sawyer • The Guardian • Sep 3, 2022
"The tone was established by much early jokiness and chat, which, though jolly, didn’t quite introduce the presenters properly. Then some blah about listeners choosing the day’s topic...the interview with the former cabinet secretary Gus O’Donnell (nickname: God) interesting and revealing, and the tone less grating...programmes are good and will almost certainly get better. The News Agents, though, needs to settle into a less breathless rhythm if it’s to do any damage to the gold standard of the New York Times’s The Daily and the Guardian’s Today in Focus. The News Agents needs to tone down the jokes and daft nicknames and concentrate."
Listener Reviews
Score: 1
Tris S • Feb 3, 2023
"Terrible. Leftist, hummus munching, Guardian reading, out of touch nonsense. It seems the hosts new found editorial freedom has revealed their true colours and its almost cringeworthy at times. The wannabe American- mid-Atlantic podcast diction and the simple naivety as to what most people in the UK think is breathtaking. An echo chamber for the select group who think like this, to those people, you will probably enjoy it. Everyone else, avoid. Your blood pressure will thank you."
