The news meeting

Why are so many prisoners being released from prison by mistake? What happens if Arts Council England goes under? And what can the Democrats learn from Mamdani's New York City mayoral election victory? Rebecca Moore is joined by The Observer's Deputy Sports Editor, Andrew Butler, Arts and Media Editor, Vanessa Thorpe, and reporter Jon Ungoed-Thomas as they pitch their top stories of the day. Must Reads: Days of wine and noses: the life of a critic: https://observer.co.uk/style/food/article/days-of-wine-and-noses-the-life-of-a-critic **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 Producers: Matt Russell 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

Will there be any voter suppression in Tuesday's US elections? Why did a British university prevent one of its academics from researching human rights abuses in China? Are Sudan's rebels using British-made equipment on the  battlefield?   Giles Whittell is joined by The Observer's Data and Graphics editor, Katie Riley, Senior Audio Producer Katie Gunning, and Senior Researcher Serena Cesareo as they pitch their top stories of the day   Must Reads: She Was Ready To Have Her 15th Child. Then The Felony Charges Began. The Great Ghosting Paradox The Cocaine Kingpin Living It Large In Dubai Assata Shakur Obituary   **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 Whitell   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  

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

The storm caused widespread damage in Jamaica and is making its way to Cuba; is climate change to blame for its power? What - or who - is behind Donald Trump's obsession with Venezuela? Is it good news that a cargo ship has made it through the North East Passage for the first time?   Jeevan Vasagar is joined by the Observer's Erica Wagner, Jessica Hayden and Chloe Hadjimatheou as they pitch their top stories of the day, live from the Observer newsroom.   

Which international peacekeeping forces might be present in Gaza, and what will their role be? Is the fact that kids on free school meals do worse in their GCSEs a symptom of a failed state? Does the Amazon outage show that the internet is too reliant on a small number of companies?   Rebecca Moore is joined by The Observer's Stephen Armstrong, Bex Sander and Ruth Michaelson as they pitch their top story of the day.   

Trump imposed what he called “tremendous” sanctions on Russia's two biggest oil companies. What's next for the Trump-Putin rollercoaster?    President Trump is planning to demolish the East Wing of the White House as early as this weekend. Who will pay for this 99,000ft ballroom?    Two Metropolitan Police officers have been dismissed for gross misconduct following their appearance in a BBC Panorama undercover investigation that caught serving officers making racist and misogynistic comments.    Giles Whittell is joined by journalist and author Ari Shapiro, former US representative to NATO and foreign policy advisor to Barack Obama Ivo Daalder and The Observer's Jessica Hayden, as they pitch their top story of the day.  

Who is responsible for breaking the ceasefire in Gaza? How might the Louvre heist thieves get away with selling jewels belonging to Napoleon's wife? Does Virginia Giuffre's memoir shed new light on the allegations against Jeffrey Epstein, Ghislaine Maxwell and  Prince Andrew? Rebecca Moore is joined by The Observer's Phoebe Davis and Stephen Armstrong, and the journalist and author Pete Apps, as they pitch their top story of the day.  

As more and more people turn to AI for news, how should journalists fight back and protect the human by-line? Will Donald Trump's cosy relationship with FIFA president Gianni Infantino allow him to dictate which cities the World Cup will be held in the US? Will the British Museum win its £3.5 million battle to keep a rare gold Tudor Heart pendant?   Rebecca Moore is joined by The Observer's Alex O'Connell, Vanessa Thorpe and Jessy Parker Humphreys, as they pitch their top story of the day.  

Hamas has released the last 20 living hostages and in return, Israel has freed over 1,700 Palestinian detainees. We're devoting the entire episode to the latest from Gaza. Rebecca Moore is joined by The Observer's Chloe Hadjimatheou and Middle East Correspondent Ruth Michaelson, to answer questions about the first part of Donald Trump's peace deal in Gaza. 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 and Matt Russell  

Why has Donald Trump sent hundreds of National Guards to Illinois? Should the UK look to France when it comes to tackling the far-right? Will the US-backed plan for peace in Gaza work? Rebecca Moore is joined by The Observer's Katie Riley and Poppy Bullard, and David Runciman, Honorary Professor of Politics at Cambridge University and host of the Past Present Future podcast as they pitch their 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: Rebecca Moore   Producer: Casey Magloire 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  

Do new oil projects in the Gulf of Mexico signal the end of an international consensus on climate change? Will the Home Office's new plans to curb protests backfire? Six months on from the Supreme Court ruling, why are the public expected to police each other's gender? Rebecca Moore is joined by The Observer's Jeevan Vasagar, Ada Barumé and Evan Moffitt as they pitch their top stories of the day.   

Two Jewish people were killed in a terrorist attack at a Manchester synagogue. Did President Trump and Pete Hegseth cross the line with their inflammatory speeches to military generals? And what's behind the surge in profits at soft toy maker Jellycat?   Giles Whittell is joined by The Observer's Erica Wagner, John Simpson and Sam Freedman, as they pitch their top story of the day.    

Will the US ban a safe and legal abortion pill? Is the Met Police full of Freemasons? Can Labour take control of the narrative on immigration? Rebecca Moore is joined by The Observer's Francisco Garcia, Serena Cesareo and Phoebe Davis as they pitch their top story of the day.  

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

This week the President made the erroneous link between pregnant women taking paracetamol to autism. What happens now that trust in basic pain relief is shaken? Has Reform miscalculated with its climate-skeptical stance? And Nike has teamed up with Kim Kardashian's SKIMS - but is their new campaign crossing the line by sexualising female athletes? Giles Whittell is joined by journalist and author David Aaronovitch, the Observer's National News Editor Claudia Williams and reporter Jon Ungoed-Thomas as they pitch the top story of the day  

Could Tiktok become MAGA-tok? What are the implications of recognising a Palestinian state? Should Rwanda be hosting an international cycling competition? Rebecca Moore is joined by The Observer's Stephen Armstrong, Bex Sander and Serena Cesareo as they pitch their top stories of the day.  

What did we learn from Trump and Starmer's press conference? Why is Israel invading Gaza City? And what does the suspension of the Jimmy Kimmel show reveal about US press freedom?

With young people in Nepal using social media sites like Discord to organise protests, are we witnessing the South Asian Spring? How influential is Elon Musk in British politics following his message to the Unite the Kingdom protestors? And how did the Assad regime systematically steal hundreds of children from their families?    Giles Whittell is joined by The Observer's Patricia Clarke, Chloe Hadjimatheou and Stephen Armstrong, as they each try to pitch the top story of the day.  

What does the sacking of Peter Mandelson mean for Keir Starmer? Does Vladimir Putin want war with NATO? Is the UK at risk of an uptick in political violence? Rebecca Moore is joined by The Observer's Jessica Hayden, Katie Gunning and Bernard Gray as they each try to pitch the top story of the day.  

Why can't the French government pass a budget? Who will win in the fight for the soul of the Labour Party? Why do pensioners keep being arrested? Giles Whittell is joined by The Observer's Tom Gatti and Serna Cesareo, as well as the journalist and author Charlie Brinkhurst Cuff, as they each try to pitch the top story of the day.