It has been a busy year! The Epstein files were released, Prince Andrew is no longer a prince, The Lionesses won the Euros and Ozempic has taken hold of Hollywood. And they are just a few non-Donald Trump related headlines.   Giles Whittell is joined by The Observer's Jeevan Vasagar, Poppy Bullard and Jessy Parker Humphreys, as they battle it out and pitch the top stories of the year.    **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     Producer: Casey Magloire    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 Observer app – for a listening experience curated by our journalists  

 Yesterday the US military carried out strikes against three boats in the Pacific, which it claims were engaged in drug trafficking.   Host: Casey Magloire Writer & Producer: Amalie Sortland Episode Photography: Michael Whitaker Executive producer: Rebecca Moore  

Miranda and Liv hear from the queen of the year: the one and only… Lily Allen! We went mad for KPOP Demon Hunters, Adolescence and Kendrick Lamar's bootcut jeans at the Super Bowl. Sean ‘Diddy' Combs trial dominated headlines and the new documentary - Sean Combs: The Reckoning went viral.    Listen to Part One of 2025 Wrapped HERE  

At least 15 people have been killed after two men opened fire on a crowd gathered for Chanukah celebrations, near Bondi Beach in Australia.

Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has called the shooting attack at Bondi Beach, Sydney, an act of terrorism and anti-semitism. The Washington Post has introduced AI-generated podcasts, and pro-democracy Hong Kong tycoon Jimmy Lai has been found guilty of national security offences.   Rebecca Moore is joined by The Observer's technology reporter Patricia Clarke, senior researcher Serena Cesareo, and our very own producer Casey Magloire, as they battle it out to pitch the top stories of the day.    **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   Producer: Amalie Sortland   Executive Producer: Jasper Corbett   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 Observer app – for a listening experience curated by our journalists

As of yesterday, millions of Australian children under the age of 16 are now banned from using the social media platforms including X, Facebook, Instagram and TikTok.   Reporter: Patricia Clarke   Writer: Poppy Bullard   Producer: Poppy Bullard   Host: Casey Magloire   Episode photography: Joe Mee   Executive Producer: Rebecca Moore  

This year has delivered a string of surreal pop-culture moments: Katy Perry in space, Katy Perry going official with former Canadian prime minister, Justin Trudeau, the jumbotron affair at the Coldplay concert, the Louvre heist, the rise of Labubus and JoJo Siwa's unlikely romance with Love Island's Chris Hughes.   Liv and Miranda discuss their favourite moments of the year as well as those things they'd like to leave behind.    Watch full episodes on YouTube - HERE    Liv and Miranda's 2025 highlights    Liv: Hard Truths (film) A Real Pain (film) One of Those Days (film)  Pillion (film)  Such Brave Girls (TV)  Mo (TV)  Kehlani (singer)  Sasha Keable (singer)    Miranda:  Fela Kuti: Fear No Man (Podcast)  Pipeline Left to Die (podcast)  Hamlet Hail to Thief (theatre)    More details on everything we chatted about in this episode!  Read Chloe Hadjimatheou's Salt Path Investigation HERE  Raynor Winn's response to the Observer's investigation HERE Miranda's Hamlet Hail to Thief review HERE   Let's chat! Send us your voice notes and predictions for 2026!  @WeHaveNotes_Pod on Instagram @WeHaveNotes_Pod on TikTok wehavenotes@observer.co.uk via email     

Vantara claims to house more than 150,000 animals - that's 15 times the size of London Zoo.   Writer: Jonathan Lewis   Producer: Poppy Bullard   Host: Casey Magloire   Episode photography: Sofia Fenton   Executive Producer: Rebecca Moore  

Bad Bunny, Taylor Swift and Billie Eilish are still dominating streams globally, but what about smaller artists?   

Spotify Wrapped is here! All of the usual suspects are dominating the global charts - Bad Bunny, Taylor Swift, The Weeknd, Drake… not much has changed from last year. So how do emerging artists breakthrough on the world's largest streaming platform?    The new film, Pillion, starring Alexander Skarsgård and Harry Melling is a masterclass in how intimate scenes can add to the plot and develop characters. But how do you create ethical and compelling sex scenes for film? Ita O'Brien, the intimacy coordinator behind Normal People, I May Destroy You and Sex Education shares all the behind the scenes secrets.    Watch full episodes on YouTube - HERE     

TikTok may glamorise the FIFO lifestyle in the outback, but what happens when the reality doesn't quite match?   Host: Tomini Babs Writer: Casey Magloire Producer: Amalie Sortland  Reporter: Niamh Rowe  Episode photography: Joe Mee Executive Producer: Rebecca Moore 

We're back in the land of Oz with Ariana Grande and Cynthia Erivo for the second half of the Wicked adaptation. It's a box office hit, but critics have been divided. Was making a Wicked sequel the best or worst move for the franchise?   Timothée Chalamet is flooding Liv and Miranda's timelines with a string of press stunts: from a spoof marketing Zoom call and designer merch collabs to commissioning orange blimps to hype his new film. So who is the little-known 29-year-old Glaswegian behind the stunts who is collaborating with Timothée, Charli XCX, and Billie Eilish?   Watch full episodes on YouTube - HERE    Read Wendy's review of Wicked: For Good HERE    Liv and Miranda love to share their recommendations, here's what's on their radar this week:    Liv: Burgonia (film)   Miranda:  This Ain't Rock 'n' Roll: Pop Music, the Swastika and the Third Reich by Daniel Rachel (book)    Read more On My Radar recommendations from The Observer's New Review HERE    Let's chat! Send us your voice notes!  @WeHaveNotes_Pod on Instagram @WeHaveNotes_Pod on TikTok wehavenotes@observer.co.uk via email     

Last week, a major report from the independent inquiry into the government's handling of the Coronavirus pandemic was published.    Writer: Poppy Bullard   Producer: Poppy Bullard    Host: Casey Magloire   Episode photography: Joe Mee   Executive Producer: Rebecca Moore  

Michael Jackson has become the first artist to achieve a top 10 hit single in six different decades, right as the trailer for his new biopic has been released. How do fans of the star reconcile the allegations when interacting with his work?'   To listen to Liv and Miranda on We Have Notes visit: lnk.to/wehavenotes  

As COP30 wraps up in Brazil, climate change experts warn that not only have we missed the 1.5 degree target for global average temperature increase, but we are now on a path to 2.6 degrees.   Writer: Casey Magloire Producer: Poppy Bullard Host: Tomini Babs Episode photography: Joe Mee Executive Producer: Rebecca Moore   

Qian Zhimin has been dubbed the cryptoqueen after UK Police discovered she had approximately £5 billion of stolen investments. But how was she caught?  Host: Ada Barumé Writer: Casey Magloire Producer: Amalie Sortland  Reporters: Poppy Sebag-Montefiore and Phoebe Davis  Episode photography: Joe Mee Executive Producer: Matt Russell 

Where do we draw the line with problematic artists? Last week, Michael Jackson became the first artist to land a top-ten hit in six different decades - right as the Michael biopic trailer dropped and racked up a record-breaking 116 million views in 24 hours.    Meanwhile, the battle for the best Christmas advert is officially underway. John Lewis, M&S, Aldi and Sainsbury's are all vying for your festive cheer. Joining Liv and Miranda to dissect the ad wars is legendary advertising guru Sir John Hegarty, the creative force behind some of the most iconic campaigns in the past sixty years, including Levi's, Lynx and Audi.   Watch full episodes on YouTube - HERE   

Twenty thousand documents from the estate of convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein have been released. Could emails referencing Donald Trump divide his loyal MAGA base? Has a No. 10 briefing warning backbenchers about a possible coup exposed a vulnerability in Keir Starmer's leadership? And Donald Trump has threatened to sue the BBC for $1 billion, but is that even possible?   Giles Whittell is joined by The Observer's Alexi Mostrous, Chloe Hadjimatheou and Poppy Bullard, as they battle it out and pitch the top stories of the day.   

David Harbour hasn't posted about the latest season of Stranger Things and has skipped major cast interviews, despite being one of the show's stars. Liv and Miranda sit down with a crisis PR expert to explore how Netflix might be managing the fallout from Harbour's ex Lily Allen's breakup album - and the Daily Mail's claims that Millie Bobby Brown filed a harassment and bullying complaint against him.   Is getting zero star ratings from critics and initially receiving 0% on Rotten Tomatoes the best thing that could have happened for Kim Kardashian's new Disney+ series? More than three million people tuned in to watch in the first weekend alone.   Watch full episodes on YouTube - HERE    Liv and Miranda love to share their recommendations, here's what's on their radar this week:  Liv: Die My Love (Film)  Miranda:  Broken English (Documentary out next year)  Listener recommendations: Celebrity Traitors‘ Mark Bonnar recommends: O Brother (book) Lee Miller exhibition at the Tate  Read more On My Radar recommendations from The Observer's New Review HERE    Links to everything mentioned ‘In The Margins':  For The Love of Jamaica Grammy nominations - Olivia Dean Miss Piggy film    Let's chat! Send us your voice notes!  @WeHaveNotes_Pod on Instagram @WeHaveNotes_Pod on TikTok wehavenotes@observer.co.uk via email 

The government has criminalised the depiction of choking and suffocation in online porn.