Science is usually considered to be the antithesis of art – clean and precise, not the result of instinct and craft. But trailblazers are breaking new ground

Should the government consider implementing a graduate tax to make the tuition repayment system fairer? What did Jim Ratcliffe get wrong about immigration in the UK? And do we need to get serious about carbon capturing?    Giles Whittell is joined by The Observer's Andrew Butler, Ada Barumé and James Tapper as they battle it out to see who can pitch the story that should lead the news.  

Backed by a Defra grant, a Bristol-based company will develop the material to help boost domestic crop yields

How did the seizure of a Russian oil tanker unfold? Is President Trump's crypto-profeteering a bigger scandal than Watergate? And with the United States turning 250, is this a time to reflect on the UK-US special relationship?    Giles Whittell is joined by The Observer's Vanessa Thorpe and James Tapper, plus special guest - the host of The Making of Musk: Understood, Jacob Silverman. Today they battle it out to see who can pitch the story that should lead the news. You can find Understood wherever you get your podcasts, and here: https://link.mgln.ai/NewsMeetingxMoM 

Jo Walton’s daughter died from complications after contracting the disease. Now health experts fear more cases after a fresh outbreak in London and low take-up of vaccine

Will the shooting of two National Guards in Washington DC change US politics forever? Should the UK roll out screening for prostate cancer? Did Chancellor Rachel Reeves miss an opportunity to gear up the economy for growth?   Rebecca Moore is joined by The Observer's Cat Neilan, Steve Bloomfield and James Tapper, as they battle it out to pitch the top stories of the day.    Find the teams Must Reads: Less WFH, more Lime, slower buses   **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: Poppy Bullard   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  

The trial was launched after 2024 Cass review which found that further research into the effects of the drugs on teens was needed

What do we do with the knowledge that climate change made Hurricane Melissa worse? Why was there such a deadly police raid in Brazil? And why isn't hospice care treated as an essential part of healthcare?  Rebecca Moore is joined by The Observer's Data and Graphics editor, Katie Riley, and reporters James Tapper and Rachael Healy, as they pitch their top stories of the day. Must Reads: Some People Can't See Mental Images Political Beliefs Dating App Experiment Premiere League **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: Matt Russel

James Tapper is healthier, fitter and a born-again fashion victim. However, the science is complicated and keeping the weight off could prove tricky

New hope for sufferers of Huntington's disease after the discovery of a treatment which could radically slow the disease  

New data reveals England had the most expensive public higher education cost per year of OECD countries

This weekend marks the first-ever Riyadh Comedy Festival, with Jimmy Carr, Aziz Ansari, and Dave Chappelle on the bill. It's being reported they are each being paid upwards of $375,000 to perform in a country which severely restricts freedom of speech. What does Trump's cryptic “good luck to all” at the UN really mean for Ukraine - and should we be worried? Is the breakthrough on Huntington's disease The News Meeting's first genuinely good news story?  Giles Whittell is joined by The Observer's International Editor, Steve Bloomfield, and reporters Rachael Healy and James Tapper as they pitch the top story of the day ** Listen to The Observer's new culture podcast We Have Notes: https://shows.acast.com/we-have-notes-with-liv-little-and-miranda-sawyer **Join us at the next News Meeting Live: https://observer.co.uk/our-events 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: Amalie Sortland 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

UK and EU allies say poison from Ecuador amphibian was ‘highly likely’ cause of death

More than 1.5 million people in the UK now use weight-loss injections like Mounjaro. But as official prices rise by as much as 140%, illegal trade is growing too.

Traps baited with dye have left the animals a strange new colour as scientists test how to trick them into eating oral contraceptive

Will SpaceX's latest triumph mean Elon Musk will make it to Mars? Why will the price of Mounjaro weightless drugs go up? Benjamin Netanyahu called the IDF's airstrike on Gaza's Nasser Hospital a “tragic misstep" but so far 240 Palestinian journalists have died since the beginning of the conflict.   Giles Whittell is joined by the Observer's International Editor, Steve Bloomfield, our Acting National News Editor, Rebecca Myers and reporter, James Tapper, as each try to pitch the top story of the day.

It could take months for groundwater to dissipate after downpours, say experts, with more on the way

Negotations on the world's first global plastics treaty are nearing their conclusion

A new national cancer plan partnership with employers aims to protect sufferers’ pay and jobs during treatment

According to the world's biggest bird survey, clearing rainforest to make way for cattle farms is even more harmful to biodiversity than we thought.  

Amid accusations of undemocratic behaviour, unprecedented numbers of amendments are threaten to delay the vote on the right of terminally ill adults to end their life

In 2022, a UK Special Forces official accidentally leaked the names of over 18,000 Afghan nationals, British special forces operatives and MI6 agents, putting thousands of lives at risk if the information fell into the wrong hands.

Google DeepMind’s new super-fast model can identify how changes to DNA lead to disease, allowing scientists to simulate conditions and develop cures

The UK eats hundreds of thousands of tonnes of tuna every year but not all of it is legally or sustainably caught.

The number of people rough sleeping is rising in England, but Calderdale is bucking the trend

OpenAI’s Sam Altman self-publishes chat GPT’s water and energy consumption for the first time, but how can tech companies continue to expand in a more sustainable way? How will RFK Jr’s appointment of known anti-vaxers to the CDC panel shape vaccination policy in the US? And are generational labels a problematic myth? Following Israeli strikes on Iran, The Observer’s Chloe Hadjimatheou and Jess Winch discuss the latest developments in the Middle East. Then, Jess Winch is joined by award winning journalist and best selling author of Empire of AI Karen Hao; plus, The Observer’s Alexi Mostrous and James Tapper, as they battle to pitch the top story of the day.

The relatives of those killed fighting alongside US troops in Afghanistan have reacted with fury to the US president‘s claim that British soldiers stayed ‘off the frontlines’

David Attenborough’s new documentary Ocean has put bottom trawling in the crosshairs of environmental activists.

Breakthrough will help research treatments for sufferers of rare and life-limiting conditions

Musicians are worried about big tech companies using their work to train AI models. But a group of musicians has come out fighting with an attempt to defend their art. How does it work?

The US department of health has rejected an international review of the drug in the Lancet in order to advance unproven claims

Why are there calls to return British art like the original Winnie-the-Pooh doll from America to the UK? Trump and Zelensky have finally signed the US-Ukraine mineral deal, but who is the real winner? With wedding season approaching, what lengths are people willing to take to look slimmer on the big day? Rebecca Moore is joined by Jeevan Vasagar, James Tapper and Vanessa Thorpe, as they battle to pitch the top story of the day.

US action in Venezuela cannot disrupt supply, drugs experts say

Weight loss drugs can be transformative for people who have struggled with obesity. But with a spike in hospital admissions experiencing adverse reactions to the drugs, should we be doing more to regulate this growing market?

A ‘multi-hazard’ event, Storm Goretti is set to unleash more adverse conditions

The children’s commissioner for England is calling for radical investment to stop the profiteers who have turned the vital care of young people into a gold rush

Doctors urge people to get jab as NHS faces rising admissions