The Observer's data team has found that the United Arab Emirates  is vying to position itself as a key player in the industry, by looking towards the developing world.    Reporter: Hannah Schuller   Writer: Poppy Bullard   Producer: Poppy Bullard   Host: Ada Barume   Episode photography: Sofia Fenton   Executive Producer: Rebecca Moore  

Justice Secretary David Lammy wants to introduce reforms to the justice system as part of a wider plan to tackle unprecedented delays in the court system.    Host: Ada Barumé Writer: Poppy Bullard Producer: Amalie Sortland Episode photography: Joe Mee Executive Producer: Rebecca Moore  

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 

The army is recruiting gamers to fly drones, raising questions about whether war is becoming more like a game.   Host: Casey Magloire Writer & Producer: Amalie Sortland Episode Photography: Sofia Fenton  Executive producer: Rebecca Moore  

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  

In the budget Chancellor Rachel Reeves outlined a series of measures aimed at bringing living costs down. But each of those measures must be paid for by taxes elsewhere.    Writer: Poppy Bullard   Producer: Poppy Bullard   Host: Ada Barume   Episode photography: Joe Mee   Executive Producer: Rebecca Moore   

David Lammy has proposed scrapping jury trials in England and Wales for all but the most serious offences. Paramount Global has obtained exclusive streaming rights to the UEFA Champions League - a move that could redefine how football fans follow the sport in the future. Revelations that MAGA-supporting accounts on X are operated from countries like North Macedonia, Pakistan and Poland raise concerns about foreign-driven influence and its impact on political discourse.   Giles Whittell is joined by The Observer's Head of Investigations Alexi Mostrous, sports reporter Jessy Parker Humphreys, and journalist, author, and presenter Jenny Kleeman as they compete to pitch the day's top stories.   While we've wrapped up our live editions of The News Meeting for 2025, keep checking https://observer.co.uk/our-events if you'd like to join us at recordings in 2026.   **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 and Poppy Bullard   Executive Producers: Matt Russell and 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  

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     

Did international tourists go on “sniper safaris” to Sarajevo during the siege in the mid-nineties? Why do some campaigners want to halt the new medical trial into the use of puberty blockers? What lies behind renewed efforts to find a peace deal between Ukraine and Russia?   Rebecca Moore is joined by The Observer's Stephen Armstrong, Bex Sander and Francisco Garcia, 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: Poppy Bullard   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 Tortoise app – for a listening experience curated by our journalists  

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   

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   

The Home Secretary has announced a raft of tough immigration controls to make the UK a less attractive destination for illegal migrants. The former Prime Minister of Bangladesh was sentenced to death, how is the UK connected to alleged corruption in her regime? And why does President Donald Trump suddenly want to release the Epstein files?   Rebecca Moore is joined by The Observer's Cat Neilan, Bex Sander and Serena Cesareo, as they battle it out to pitch the top stories of the day.    Listen to our Londongrad podcast series HERE Get your ticket for the News Meeting Live 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 Producer: Amalie Sortland Executive Producer: Katie Gunning   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

Nicotine pouches are flying off the shelves across the UK – and increasingly, it's teenagers buying them.   Host: Tomini Babs Writer & Producer: Amalie Sortland Episode Photography: Sofia Fenton Executive producer: Rebecca Moore

Marjorie Taylor Greene, the ultra-Trumpian Republican congresswoman from Georgia, is one of the four Republican dissenters who support the full release of the Epstein files. Listen to Alexi Mostrous discuss the Epstein emails in more detail on The News Meeting podcast. Host: Tomini Babs Writer & Producer: Amalie Sortland Episode Photography: Sofia Fenton Executive producer: Rebecca Moore

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.   

Trump's lawyers demanded that the BBC apologise for an edited clip of him in a Panorama documentary or face a $1 billion lawsuit.   Writer: Poppy Bullard   Producer: Poppy Bullard   Host: Ada Barume     Episode photography: Sofia Fenton   Executive Producer: Rebecca Moore  

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