Will facial recognition technology change law enforcement forever? JD Vance has been wooing his British political allies in the Cotswolds, but will a new think-tank deepen US influence in right wing politics? Is the government at risk of losing public support after the Palestine Action arrests?

Giles Whittell is joined by the Observer’s Whitehall Editor Cat Neilan, News Reporter Jon Ungoed Thomas and Consulting Editor for Comment, Erica Wagner.

Links to the team’s Must Reads and recommendations here:

• Blackberry
• Violent, lawless, broken Britain? The facts tell a different story

**We want to hear what you think! Email us at: newsmeeting@observer.co.uk

Follow us on Social Media:

• @ObserverUK on X
• @theobserveruk on Instagram and TikTok
• @theobserveruk.bsky.social‬ on bluesky

Host: Giles Whittell, Deputy Editor-In-Chief

Producers: Amalie Sortland and Poppy Bullard

To find out more about The Observer:

Subscribe to TheObserver+ on Apple Podcasts for early access and ad-free content

Head to our website observer.co.uk

Download the Tortoise app – for a listening experience curated by our journalists

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

What proof has Israel provided to support their claim that Anas al Sharif ran a Hamas cell in Gaza? Why has the partnership between Premier League Football and Stonewall ended? And will Putin’s visit to the US bring an end to the war in Ukraine?

Giles Whittell is joined by NPR’s International Correspondent, Lauren Frayer. Plus the Observer’s Serena Cesareo and Jessy Parker Humphreys, as they battle it out and pitch the top stories of the day.

Links to the team’s Must Reads and recommendations here:

• What It’s Like to Brainstorm with a Bot - HERE
• Dr. Phil’s Road From Oprah to ICE Raids - HERE
• Uber’s Festering Sexual Assault Problem - HERE
• A livestream of deep sea creatures transfixes Argentina and sparks calls for refunding science - HERE

More from Lauren’s NPR colleague Anas Baba reporting from Gaza

• For NPR’s Anas Baba, covering the war in Gaza also means living it - HERE
• The deadly risk of trying to reach food in Gaza - HERE

**We want to hear what you think! Email us at: newsmeeting@observer.co.uk

Follow us on Social Media:

• @ObserverUK on X
• @theobserveruk on Instagram and TikTok
• @theobserveruk.bsky.social‬ on bluesky

Host: Giles Whittell, Deputy Editor-In-Chief

Producer: Casey Magloire

Executive Producer: Jasper Corbett and Matt Russell

To find out more about The Observer:

Subscribe to TheObserver+ on Apple Podcasts for early access and ad-free content

Head to our website observer.co.uk

Download the Tortoise app – for a listening experience curated by our journalists

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Is it wrong for the government to ask police to release information on the ethnicity and immigration status of crime suspects? As countries gather for the UN plastics summit, just how much of our lives are contaminated by plastic? Who is the YouTuber behind the misinformation campaign targeting France’s First Lady?

Giles Whittell is joined by The Observer’s Political Editor Rachel Sylvester, reporter Phoebe Davis and reporter James Tapper.

Links to the team’s Must Reads here:

• The Retrievals Series 2
• The Ezra Klein Show

Listen to Rachel’s series The Lab Detective HERE

Follow us on Social Media:

• @ObserverUK on X
• @theobserveruk on Instagram and TikTok
• @theobserveruk.bsky.social‬ on bluesky

Host: Giles Whittell, Deputy Editor-in-Chief

Producer: Poppy Bullard

Executive Producer: Rebecca Moore

To find out more about The Observer:

Subscribe to TheObserver+ on Apple Podcasts for early access and ad-free content

Head to our website observer.co.uk

Download the Tortoise app – for a listening experience curated by our journalists

If you want to get in touch with us directly about a story, or tell us more about the stories you want to hear about contact hello@tortoisemedia.com

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

As the UK Parliament takes its summer break, has Reform seized the media spotlight and emerged as a viable third-party contender? What are the risks of uploading ID to age-restricted websites under the Online Safety Act? Will Trump impose his peace deal deadline on Russia if Putin refuses negotiations?

Rebecca Moore is joined by The New Statesman’s Associate Political Editor, Rachel Cunliffe. Plus the Observer’s Poppy Bullard and Patricia Clarke, as they battle it out and pitch the top stories of the day.

Links to the team’s Must Reads and recommendations here:

• Gen lay-Z: Why my generation doesn't care about work - HERE
• One year on, tensions still circle Britain’s asylum-seeker hotels - HERE
• Nathan For You (Season 4, Episode 8), Finding Frances.
• Trump’s relationship with Putin ‘at breaking point’ after Russia unleashes Kyiv blitz -
• HERE

We want to hear what you think! Email us at: newsmeeting@observer.co.uk

Follow us on Social Media:

• @ObserverUK on X
• @theobserveruk on Instagram and TikTok
• @theobserveruk.bsky.social‬ on bluesky

Host: Rebecca Moore, Executive Producer

Producer: Casey Magloire

Executive Producer: Matt Russell

To find out more about The Observer:

Subscribe to TheObserver+ on Apple Podcasts for early access and ad-free content

Head to our website observer.co.uk

Download the Tortoise app – for a listening experience curated by our journalists

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Are male novelists a dying breed? Can women trust apps with their personal data? Are tariffs the only way Donald Trump knows how to do diplomacy?

Giles Whittell is joined by The Observer’s Home Affairs Editor John Simpson, Head of Data and Graphics Katie Riley and Consulting Editor for Comment, Erica Wagner.

Links to the team’s Must Reads here:

• What do tweens really want?
• DOGE-pilled

Read Erica’s piece on the Booker Prize longlist HERE

Follow us on Social Media:

• @ObserverUK on X
• @theobserveruk on Instagram and TikTok
• @theobserveruk.bsky.social‬ on bluesky

Host: Giles Whittell, Deputy Editor-in-Chief

Producer: Poppy Bullard

Executive Producer: Rebecca Moore

To find out more about The Observer:

Subscribe to TheObserver+ on Apple Podcasts for early access and ad-free content

Head to our website observer.co.uk

Download the Tortoise app – for a listening experience curated by our journalists

If you want to get in touch with us directly about a story, or tell us more about the stories you want to hear about contact hello@tortoisemedia.com

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Is the UK’s decision to conditionally recognise the state of Palestine more symbolic than practical? As protests in Epping continue, how is rhetoric around asylum seekers impacting children from ethnic minority backgrounds? Now that the Lionesses have won the Euros for a second time, is this confirmation that the hard work put into the women’s game has paid off?

Giles Whittell is joined by ITV News Presenter and Loose Women panellist Charlene White. Plus, the Observer’s narrative editor Chloe Hadjimatheou and Deputy Sports Editor, Andrew Butler.

**Join us at the next News Meeting Live HERE

Dive deeper into all the stories from this episode:

• Leader: it is time to recognise Palestine HERE
• Sensemaker podcast: How did the Lionesses do it again? HERE
• Never mind the economy, immigration is now a bigger concern for voters HERE
• Sensemaker podcast: How much aid is getting through to Gaza? HERE
• Nigel Farage wants to be taken seriously, but can’t stop playing dangerous games HERE

Follow us on Social Media:

• @ObserverUK on X
• @theobserveruk on Instagram and TikTok
• @theobserveruk.bsky.social‬ on bluesky

Host: Giles Whittell, Deputy Editor-In-Chief

Producer: Casey Magloire

Executive Producer: Matt Russell, Deputy Head of Audio and Rebecca Moore, Executive producer

To find out more about The Observer:

Subscribe to TheObserver+ on Apple Podcasts for early access and ad-free content

Head to our website observer.co.uk

Download the Tortoise app – for a listening experience curated by our journalists

If you want to get in touch with us directly about a story, or tell us more about the stories you want to hear about contact hello@tortoisemedia.com

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Are Labour’s concerns about social cohesion a sign that they may be aligning with some of Reforms ideas on immigration? Why does Kemi Badenoch want to outlaw doctors’ strikes? And are the latest aid drops in Gaza a sign of change to come?

Jasper Corbett is joined by journalist and broadcaster David Aaronovitch. Plus, the Observer reporter Stephen Armstrong and senior producer Katie Gunning.

**Listen to the Sensemaker podcast: How did the Lionesses do it again? HERE

**Join us at the News Meeting Live HERE

Links to the team’s Must Reads here:

• Tom Lehrer, Musical Satirist With a Dark Streak, Dies at 97
• Britain isn’t broken by Sam Freedman
• What I Learnt From Being Disinherited by Daisy Goodwin

Follow us on Social Media:

• @ObserverUK on X
• @theobserveruk on Instagram and TikTok
• @theobserveruk.bsky.social‬ on bluesky

Host: Jasper Corbett, Head of Audio

Producer: Casey Magloire

Executive Producer: Matt Russell, Deputy Head of Audio

To find out more about The Observer:

Subscribe to TheObserver+ on Apple Podcasts for early access and ad-free content

Head to our website observer.co.uk

Download the Tortoise app – for a listening experience curated by our journalists

If you want to get in touch with us directly about a story, or tell us more about the stories you want to hear about contact hello@tortoisemedia.com

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Is Belgium paving the way for more international action over Gaza? Have the Lionesses paved the way for a permanent change in English football culture? What’s going on at Unite?

Rebecca Moore is joined by three Observer journalists. Senior Digital Editor Claudia Williams, Sports Reporter Jessy Parker Humphreys and Architecture Critic Rowan Moore.

Links to the team’s Must Reads here:

• The billionaire and the tax evading gift shops
• The Human Side of Music’s Prince Of Darkness
• Records Tumbling for Lucy Bronze

Listen to the Inside Unite HERE

**Join us at the News Meeting Live HERE

Follow us on Social Media:

• @ObserverUK on X
• @theobserveruk on Instagram and TikTok
• @theobserveruk.bsky.social‬ on bluesky

Host: Rebecca Moore, Executive Producer

Producer: Poppy Bullard

Executive Producer: Jasper Corbett, Head of Audio

To find out more about The Observer:

Subscribe to TheObserver+ on Apple Podcasts for early access and ad-free content

Head to our website observer.co.uk

Download the Tortoise app – for a listening experience curated by our journalists

If you want to get in touch with us directly about a story, or tell us more about the stories you want to hear about contact hello@tortoisemedia.com

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.