Is a financial collapse coming worse than the Wall St crash?

Is a financial collapse coming worse than the Wall St crash?

Author: Global July 31, 2026 Duration: 43:23

Andy Burnham hasn't even been Prime Minister for two weeks, but the early verdict is positive. He's looked decisive, commanded the agenda and projected authority. The question is: will that matter?

New governments often think they know what will define them but history has a habit of intervening. The biggest political events are often the ones nobody sees coming. Could the next defining crisis already be taking shape?

This week saw a bruising sell-off in AI stocks as investors questioned whether the more than $1.5 trillion pouring into AI can ever deliver the returns being promised. Some are beginning to ask whether we're watching an AI bubble form. And if it bursts, the consequences could stretch far beyond Silicon Valley.

The last time we saw a collapse on this scale was 1929 - the Wall Street Crash. It reshaped politics, economics and the course of the twentieth century.

This Friday, Andrew Ross Sorkin joins The News Agents to discuss his new book on the 1929 crash. What really caused it? And why the parallels with today's AI boom are becoming harder to ignore?

The News Agents is a Global Production.

The News Agents is brought to you by HSBC UK - https://grp.hsbc/TheRightConnections


Every weekday afternoon, Emily Maitlis, Jon Sopel, and Lewis Goodall gather to make sense of the noise. Their The News Agents isn't a simple bulletin; it's a conversation between three of the UK's most experienced journalists who have seen the machinery of government and media from the inside. This daily podcast from Global focuses on the forces shaping our world, dissecting the headlines from Westminster and beyond with a sharp eye for what really matters. You'll hear them pull apart political strategies, question the official narrative, and trace the connections between today's breaking story and its deeper roots. What sets this show apart is their collective tone-a blend of genuine expertise, natural scepticism, and the occasional necessary laugh at the absurdities of the news cycle. They provide context where others just provide clips, aiming to answer the persistent "why" behind the "what." Tuning into this podcast feels like getting a direct, unfiltered briefing from colleagues who know the landscape intimately, making the complex flow of daily events not just comprehensible but genuinely engaging. It’s analysis designed for anyone who wants to move past the soundbites.
Author: Language: English Episodes: 50

The News Agents
Podcast Episodes
How did Dolly Parton unite a polarised America? [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 30:02
Dolly Parton always avoided talking politics. She said you could find her opinions in her songs. She wrote about abortion, female rights, heartbreak, and wandering eyes. And yet, across America today Democrats have expre…
Why is Elon Musk paying Rupert Lowe thousands to tweet? [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 45:04
Rupert Lowe has a lot to be grateful to Elon Musk for. Last month, on Joe Rogan’s podcast, he credited Musk with helping to restore free speech on X. And it was Musk who publicly backed Lowe and promoted him as a politic…
Harry and Meghan - why can't the media leave them alone? [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 38:05
It’s happening again. Six years after Harry and Meghan fled Britain for California, citing the relentlessness of the British press, the reaction to their homecoming has been fevered. Why can’t we leave them alone? And do…
Special Report: The Trump hotel that could topple a government [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 40:36
How has a Trump family luxury development sparked a protest movement so large that it is threatening to bring down a European Prime Minister? Well that's exactly what has happened in Albania. A proposed 4 billion euro re…
Would Jason Arday still be alive if he were white? [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 38:27
It's nearly a week on from the death of Jason Arday, the Cambridge professor who came under scrutiny after allegations of plagiarism were levelled against him. Even after his resignation, media coverage scrutinised his w…
Are data centres going to crash the world economy? [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 34:05
Borrowing costs have hit new highs in some of the world's biggest economies. While Trump's war with Iran is behind some of rise, it's the AI effect that is spooking some market analysts. A huge surge in corporate borrowi…
Has Trump fallen in love with his 'human printer'? [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 34:00
A leading Democrat was mid stump speech which he suddenly sent the crowd wild. It wasn’t his mention of Trump's failed Iran war. It wasn't an attack on his tariffs, or his failed cost of living policies. It was the momen…
The Hounding of Jason Arday [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 35:08
The chancellor of Cambridge University today has condemned the "racist feeding frenzy" around Jason Arday. Arday was found dead on Friday after a relentless slew of articles querying the veracity of his academic work and…
Farage beats the bin - so why are Reform MPs livid? [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 39:07
The people of Clacton will be relieved it’s over, but one candidate was conspicuously absent from the proceedings last night: Nigel Farage. He and his team will say he was advised not to attend because of a security thre…