Matthew Freud rarely gives interviews. He’s normally behind the curtain, on the end of the phone - helping A listers, politicians, and businesses navigate their way through a hostile and unrelenting media environment. But now, on the fortieth anniversary of his company, which has served many of the world's biggest brands and most famous faces - he sits down with Jon and Emily to discuss scandal, power, Succession and what it’s like to be part of both the Freud and Murdoch dynasties.

Don’t forget you can also subscribe to our other News Agents podcasts via the link below:

https://linktr.ee/thenewsagents

The News Agents is brought to you by HSBC UK - https://www.hsbc.co.uk/

EXCLUSIVE NordVPN Deal https://nordvpn.com/thenewsagents Try it risk-free now with a 30-day money-back guarantee

This week on The Sports Agents...

What a moment it was... after an 11-year wait for the final major, Rory McIlroy finally achieved a career Grand Slam by winning the Masters. Actor James Nesbitt explained what it means to Northern Ireland, we relived the rollercoaster with co-host of The Chipping Forecast Podcast, Andrew Cotter, and spoke to Ciaran Lavery the Head Pro at McIlroy’s golf club, Holywood. (02:15)

Who needs Messi, Neymar and Mbappe anyway? The new look PSG are into the Champions League semi-finals and flying. So how has such a young team become one of the best teams in Europe to watch with their free-flowing wing-wizadry? French football journalist Julien Laurens gives Gabby the lowdown. (09:15)

And ahead of the NFL draft next week - what's it like to get that phone call? How intense are the background checks?And how many thousands of plays do you have to learn when you get there? Mark caught up with Chicago Bears Running Back Roschon Johnson.(16:15)

Got a question for The Sports Agents - email us at [email protected]

New episodes every Tuesday and Thursday.

After years of culture war debate over trans women and their rights, today the Supreme Court ruled that the word “woman” in the 2010 Equality Act refers only to “biological” women.

So was this a victory for the women who brought the legal challenge? Does this change anything in real terms for trans-people going forward? And does it just give greater ammunition to those stoking the culture war debate?

Don’t forget you can also subscribe to our other News Agents podcasts via the link below:

https://linktr.ee/thenewsagents

The News Agents is brought to you by HSBC UK - https://www.hsbc.co.uk/

EXCLUSIVE NordVPN Deal https://nordvpn.com/thenewsagents Try it risk-free now with a 30-day money-back guarantee

The night after one of the deadliest attacks on Ukrainian civilians since Putin's invasion, the American President has gone all block caps, tweeting: 'I HAD NOTHING TO DO WITH THIS WAR'. He's clearly a bit rattled. He'd been briefed over the weekend - following talks between his own envoy and Putin - that a ceasefire was significantly nearer. Things, he told us on Saturday, were heading in the right direction.

That was before Putin dropped his missiles on Sumy, a bustling city going to church on Palm Sunday. So does Donald Trump have no idea of Putin's mindset or moves? And should this tell us he has no way to bring about a ceasefire? We speak to the Ukrainian MP and youngest governor of Odessa Solomiia Bobrovska.

Don’t forget you can also subscribe to our other News Agents podcasts via the link below:

https://linktr.ee/thenewsagents

The News Agents is brought to you by HSBC UK - https://www.hsbc.co.uk/

EXCLUSIVE NordVPN Deal https://nordvpn.com/thenewsagents Try it risk-free now with a 30-day money-back guarantee

Is China trying to sabotage British industry? That’s the warning from a group in parliament. Some ministers may quietly agree. But they can’t say it out loud. So what should our strategy be? As the UK Government takes over the running of a Chinese owned company called British Steel, where does that leave our trade relationship with Beijing? Are we embracing China or running a mile? And what exactly is China planning to build now in the heart of the city of London?

Don’t forget you can also subscribe to our other News Agents podcasts via the link below:

https://linktr.ee/thenewsagents

The News Agents is brought to you by HSBC UK - https://www.hsbc.co.uk/

EXCLUSIVE NordVPN Deal https://nordvpn.com/thenewsagents Try it risk-free now with a 30-day money-back guarantee

In a dramatic turn of events, parliament has been recalled for MPs to discuss the future of British Steel. In Scunthorpe, some 2,700 jobs hang in the balance after the Chinese owner of the steel works said its blast furnaces are "no longer financially sustainable".

Thousands more jobs in the supply chain are also at risk - steel runs through the heart of Scunthorpe. Earlier this week, Keir Starmer declared that we have entered a "changing and completely new world" and promised to "rewire the state completely".

Does this mark the end of the era of globalisation? Could we see a more active state, stepping in to take control of vital national industries? And if so, how does that tally with the PM's remarks to The News Agents, just last month, that he wanted to see a smaller and more agile state?

Lewis has been in Scunthorpe for this special report of a town on the brink, a strategy, perhaps, turned on its head, and what it all means for Britain's industry, its people and its politics.

This special report was produced by Louis Degenhardt and Rory Symon.

Don’t forget you can also subscribe to our other News Agents podcasts via the link below:

https://linktr.ee/thenewsagents

The News Agents is brought to you by HSBC UK - https://www.hsbc.co.uk/

EXCLUSIVE NordVPN Deal https://nordvpn.com/thenewsagents Try it risk-free now with a 30-day money-back guarantee

This week on The Sports Agents...

From watching his uncle commit one of the biggest robberies in British history, to a police chase and a double life sentence. John McAvoy tells us his story of turning his life around to break world records and become a sponsored Ironman triathlete. (03:30)

Former Liverpool winger Jordon Ibe was set to be England's next big thing but after a broken promise from Jurgen Klopp and being robbed at gunpoint, his mental health spiralled. Now he's in the 7th tier trying to rekindle his love of football, raising questions about what success really looks like in football. (10:30)

Angel Cabrera is competing at The Masters after 30 months in jail for assault, theft and illegal intimidation against former girlfriends. Former Ryder Cup captain Paul McGinley, takes us behind the curtain and discusses whether a convicted criminal should have lost his green jacket? (19:00)

Got a question for The Sports Agents - email us at [email protected]

New episodes every Tuesday and Thursday.

At the precise moment Donald Trump was “pausing” his tariffs policy, his own trade negotiator was trying to explain to Congress who knew what when. Did those around Trump have prior knowledge, and take the opportunity to invest? Or did he leave his own team in the dark?

Trump has tried to style his climb down as a win. But the soaring response of the stock markets suggest they think the tariffs trauma is now done. Has Trump boxed himself in? And will anyone believe him next time? Later, Trump’s revengeathon is alive and kicking. He’s now investigating two former officials for 'treason'. Because they dared criticise him and tell the truth about the 2020 election. And Lewis is in Scunthorpe ahead of that decision on British steel.

Don’t forget you can also subscribe to our other News Agents podcasts via the link below:

https://linktr.ee/thenewsagents

The News Agents is brought to you by HSBC UK - https://www.hsbc.co.uk/

EXCLUSIVE NordVPN Deal https://nordvpn.com/thenewsagents Try it risk-free now with a 30-day money-back guarantee

Trump's tariffs, combined with China's retaliation, are doing terrible things to stock markets around the world. People are selling off equity and assets in this increasingly uncertain time. But now something even more strange is happening - the bond market is tanking. And that’s a sign that confidence in the US government itself has hit the rocks. When Greece starts looking like a safer bet than America you know things are bad. Is Trump going to follow Liz Truss down the road to self immolation? And what happens next?

Later, why the Birmingham bin strikes are about something much bigger than rubbish - and why they might soon hit the rest of England.

Don’t forget you can also subscribe to our other News Agents podcasts via the link below:

https://linktr.ee/thenewsagents

The News Agents is brought to you by HSBC UK - https://www.hsbc.co.uk/

EXCLUSIVE NordVPN Deal https://nordvpn.com/thenewsagents Try it risk-free now with a 30-day money-back guarantee

As Trump threatens to double the tariffs on China the trade war between two of the world's biggest economies is escalating. China has said it will "fight to the end". Trump says he will not back down. As each side raises the stakes, will Trump have to concede that he's made mistakes? Who will back down first? And how will this trade war affect the rest of the world?

Later, we speak to pollster Luke Tryl from More in Common about how all of this is going down with the voters in the UK - and how Starmer is coming out of all this mayhem.

Don’t forget you can also subscribe to our other News Agents podcasts via the link below:

https://linktr.ee/thenewsagents

The News Agents is brought to you by HSBC UK - https://www.hsbc.co.uk/

EXCLUSIVE NordVPN Deal https://nordvpn.com/thenewsagents Try it risk-free now with a 30-day money-back guarantee

Hong Kong's stock exchange has just closed down 13% - to put this in context it's the worst day of trading since the Asian market crash of 1997. The FTSE 100 has plummeted here, Goldman Sachs has upgraded its probability of a US recession, and members of the US government are now taking to the airwaves to squabble about the plan ahead. Is this genuinely what Trump wanted? Is he still pretending it's going well? And is the plan to make the world come to the negotiating table? It can't - coherently - be both. What will Keir Starmer's plan for growth involve now? Who should we be trading with? And are those fiscal rules still ironclad?

And later, why did Israel stop two UK MPs from entering the country?

Don’t forget you can also subscribe to our other News Agents podcasts via the link below:

https://linktr.ee/thenewsagents

The News Agents is brought to you by HSBC UK - https://www.hsbc.co.uk/

EXCLUSIVE NordVPN Deal https://nordvpn.com/thenewsagents Try it risk-free now with a 30-day money-back guarantee