For the Manchester mayor, rejoining the EU is an instinct that dare not speak its name

Last week’s meeting of the two leaders was characterised by strategic ambiguity, with diplomatic silences from one and veiled threats from the other

Wes Streeting, the health secretary, announces he's resigning from government in an attempt to force Sir Keir Starmer out of Downing Street. Has the Labour leadership contest officially started? What can we learn from US Donald Trump's summit with China's Xi Jinping? And why are young people facing a significant retirement crisis?   Giles Whittell is joined by The Observer's Stephen Armstrong, Cat Neilan and Caitlin Macdonald as they battle it out and 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: Giles Whittell   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

For the first time in a long time there is a glass half full view of Moscow’s war on Ukraine. Russia could be losing

In the wake of the terror attacks in Golders Green, what can Britain do to stop antisemitic violence? With a historic marathon record broken, how did Sabastian Sawe achieve his sub 2-hour time? And as the May elections approach, exactly how bad are Labour's prospects? Giles Whittell is joined by The Observer's Jeevan Vasagar, Jess Hayden and Andrew Rawnsley as they battle it out and pitch the top stories of the day.  Live at The Royal Society of Arts!  

A protest about weights and measurements 26 years ago set the table for the Brexit vote. Now, its supporters say Starmer’s government is about to get served

The president had spent the past ten years boycotting the annual event

The African nation is being asked to grant the US access to a hallucinogen that can banish opioid addiction and could heal the Maga rift

What do the latest revelations about Peter Mandelson's appointment tell us about Keir Starmer's leadership? What are the long term implications of Iran and the US blocking the Strait of Hormuz? And is climate change's impact on pollen the source of our hay fever problems?  Giles Whittell is joined by The Observer reporter James Tapper, producer and reporter Poppy Bullard and sports reporter Jessy Parker Humphreys, to decide the top story of the day.        

Why does the Artemis II mission around the moon matter? Are concerns around Anthropic's new AI model Mythos justified? And who has the upper hand in the ceasefire agreement between the US-Israel and Iran?   Giles Whittell is joined by The Observer's technology reporter, Patricia Clarke, reporter Phoebe Davis and Deputy Comment Editor, Erica Wagner, to decide the top story 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: Giles Whittell    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

Even as Artemis II’s astronauts captured a view first immortalised in 1968, the science programmes that sent them into space were being sacrificed to Trump’s ‘aggressive’ quest to beat China to the lunar surface

What does AI chatbots have to do with violence against women and girls? Why have Meta and Google been found liable for social media addiction? And could Nigel Farage's visit to Ipswich Town's Portman Road be the start of Reform's relationship with football?   Giles Whittell is joined by The Observer's technology reporter, Patricia Clarke, deputy sports editor, Andrew Butler, and data reporter, Hannah Schuller, to see who can pitch the top story 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: Giles Whittell    Producer: Amalie Sortland   Executive Producer: Casey Magloire   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

Quinn Slobodian and Ben Tarnoff’s biography of the world’s richest man asks whether Elon Musk represents anything but himself

How did a British man end up being charged for allegedly filming Iranian missiles in Dubai? A tranche of new files raise questions about what the Labour government knew about Peter Mandelson's relationship with Jeffrey Epstein before appointing him UK ambassador to the US. What could the files mean for Keir Starmer's future as Prime Minister? And why is the Edinburgh International Festival facing backlash?   To battle out who can pitch the story that should lead the news, Giles Whittell is joined by The Observer's Arts and Media Editor Vanessa Thorpe, news reporter Jon Ungoed-Thomas and Assistant Sports Editor Jess Hayden.   **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: Amalie Sortland   Executive Producer: Casey Magloire   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

The world’s wealthiest man once saw colonising Mars as the only way to save humanity. Now he is focusing on building a city on the moon instead

In the past seven days the emirate that wants to be the New York of the Middle East became a target of ballistic missiles. Some are calling time, but most of those who made it what it is are digging in

They can all be valid, but some are nobler than others

In this episode we discuss the US and Israeli strikes on Iran over the weekend. How did the situation unfold and what are the wider ramifications for the region?   Giles Whittell is joined by The Observer's International Editor Steve Bloomfield, Narrative Editor Chloe Hadjimatheou and Middle East expert and author Jotam Confino.    Subscribe to our newsletters HERE for a wide array of digital stories and columns straight from The Observer newsroom.   Listen to Chloe Hadjimatheou's Slow Newscast documentary on ‘The hunt for Iran's next Supreme Leader' 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    Producer: Amalie Sortland   Executive Producer: Casey Magloire   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

Politicians broke away from tradition and discussed Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor in Parliament this week - does this signal the end of deference? The number of people living in asylum hotels has dropped, but what's behind this trend? Popular influencer Clavicular is the face of a growing community of looksmaxxers who are taking over the internet. What is looksmaxxing and why is it so popular?    To battle out who can pitch the story that should lead the news, Giles Whittell is joined by The Observer's Whitehall Editor Cat Neilan, and two newcomers; writer, journalist and host of Sky News' Trevor Phillips on Sunday, Sir Trevor Phillips, and award-winning documentary maker and journalist, Benjamin Zand.    Read ‘Clavicular didn't invent ‘looksmaxxing' – gay men have been at it for a long time' on The Observer website 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    Producer: Casey Magloire and Amalie Sortland   Executive Producer: Casey Magloire   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

Military analysts are wargaming scenarios in which Russia turns its sights on Estonia as soon as 2028 – putting Nato’s Article 5 to the ultimate test. We look at how events could unfold