Episodios

  • Why does Trump want to tear down Harvard?
    May 28 2025

    Not content with demanding government oversight of Harvard's teaching and appointments, Donald Trump has directed his government to cease all federal funding of America's most prestigious university. And in a wider blow to academia, US embassies around the world have been ordered to suspend scheduling appointments for student visas. Social media vetting will be stepped up for those hoping to step foot on an American campus. Why is Donald Trump so fixated on the higher education institutions that have made the US world leaders in so many sectors? We speak to one Harvard scholar who is leading the calls for his university not to cave in to the pressure.

    Later, as Trump accuses Putin of "playing with fire", could he finally be serious about slapping tough new sanctions on Russia? And what does America's intelligence community make of the way he's conducting himself on the world stage?

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

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    40 m
  • Joe Biden and the cancer cover-up conspiracy
    May 20 2025

    Gone are the days when a presidential cancer diagnosis would be greeted with kind words and warm wishes. It took less than 24 hours for the White House administration to try and turn the illness into the latest smoking gun on what Biden had or hadn’t told the public whilst he was president. But should the Democrats take some blame for what’s happening now? We talk to the former Biden policy adviser Jamie Ruben. Later, where is Trump now on Israel and Russia - and what’s going on with James Comey and those sea shells?

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    39 m
  • Plane stupid: why MAGA loyalists hate Trump's Qatari gift
    May 14 2025

    Donald Trump's trip to the Gulf should have been accompanied by glowing headlines and fawning Fox coverage about the hundreds of billions of dollars secured in fresh investment into America from allies in the region. But there's one deal in particular that has riled friends and foes of the President: a $400m jet being gifted to Trump by Qatar. He's said he would be "stupid" to turn down the offer - critics have raised ethical, intelligence, and corruption concerns. Is the perception of a grift the ultimate gift for the Democrats?

    Later, we speak to Bryan Lanza, a veteran of both the 2016 and 2024 Trump campaigns, about whether the White House should be feeling the heat over the tariff climbdown - and whether claiming there is a migrant "invasion" justifies suspending a thousand year old legal principle.

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

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    35 m
  • Is Trump about to ditch his tariff fiasco?
    May 7 2025

    Canada's Prime Minister Carney has been in the White House explaining to President Trump why he can’t just claim Canada as a 51st state. Trump still likes to think he can. Meanwhile, Trump has accused America's closest trading partner of “ripping off“ his country, while Canada's PM has called Trump “transformational“ and left it at that. So has Carney's election victory actually changed anything?

    There was no sign of a breakthrough on tariffs between the two leaders either, but Donald Trump has found himself on the back foot on the economy. He was forced to float the idea that parents could just buy fewer dolls for their children after the news that Mattel will hike the prices of Barbie dolls for American consumers.

    So what happens to Trump’s damaging tariffs now? Is he paving the way for a U-turn, given company after company have had to explain why prices are going up for American consumers?

    Later, we speak to President Clinton strategist Doug Sosnik about whether Trump tanking in the polls is enough to turn his party's fortunes around.

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

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    34 m
  • How to lose friends and alienate people (in 100 days)
    Apr 30 2025

    Has Donald Trump irrevocably reordered America's place in the world? He may have only just marked his first 100 days back in the White House, but in that time President Trump has confronted his allies, courted adversaries, and taken a sledgehammer to the world order as we knew it. Has he redrawn our geopolitics in a way that has moved America's traditional partners away from America - and what does it mean for the future?

    We talk to Trump’s former National Security Advisor, John Bolton.

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

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

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    38 m
  • Has Trump's Pentagon “trial run“ blown up?
    Apr 23 2025

    It's not the first time America's Defense Secretary has leaked Pentagon battle plans. Last month he shared details of a strike attack against the Houthis with an Atlantic journalist by mistake. This time another Signal group has been discovered with sensitive contents - this time including his wife, brother and...his lawyer. So why hasn't he been fired? And is Pete Hegseth proving too chaotic even for Trump?

    We speak to Trump's former Director of Communications, Michael Dubke, about what is really going on in the White House.

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

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

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    35 m
  • Trump defies the Supreme Court
    Apr 16 2025

    The Supreme Court has ruled that Donald Trump's administration must "facilitate" the return of an El Salvadorian national deported to his home country in an "administrative error". Kilmar Abrego Garcia fled to the US as a teenager to escape gang violence and was protected from deportation by an immigration judge in 2019.

    He has no criminal conviction. But the Trump administration seems to be ignoring that instruction. Instead, they have labelled him a "terrorist" and gang member - without evidence - and the President has insisted he is powerless to return him. If Donald Trump continues to defy the judges, is America heading for a constitutional crisis?

    Jon and Emily speak to Congressman Juan Vargas, who's spent time with Abrego Garcia's family and is leading the efforts to secure his return.

    Later, why is federal funding being withdrawn from America's most prestigious university?

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

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

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    42 m
  • Will Trump tariffs tear MAGA apart?
    Apr 9 2025

    160 years ago today, Ulysses Grant led the Union army to victory in America's civil war. The 2025 American civil war is shaping up to be less bloody - but still brutal. How long are Trump's followers going to turn a blind eye to the economic mayhem he’s inflicting on them? And can the Democrats find six Republicans to vote with them to stop the chaos? We talk to the Congressman leading the charge, Sean Casten.

    Meanwhile, as measles break out across Texas, where does the famously anti-vax Health Secretary now stand on vaccination?

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

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

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    33 m
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