Is Trump blowing up the world economy - as well as Iran?

Is Trump blowing up the world economy - as well as Iran?

Author: Global March 9, 2026 Duration: 34:01

For a Prime Minister obsessed with driving down the cost of living, the ongoing conflict in the Middle East is shaping up to be something of a nightmare. Oil prices have surged, the Bank of England is now expected to raise, rather than cut, interest rates, and the AA is telling drivers to consider cutting down on non-essential journeys due to the price of the pumps.

The war has shown no sign of winding up - indeed over the weekend Donald Trump seemed to leave open the idea that it could last more than six weeks. Remarkably, his press secretary failed to rule out a return of the draft, not seen in America since the Vietnam war. Why? Because the desired endgame for the Trump administration is still very difficult to see. A new Supreme Leader has been installed and appears to be as hardline as his predecessor father. Iranian missiles are still raining down on the region. And if gas prices continue to squeeze Americans, could Trump find himself blinking first?

Later, Tony Blair's off the record remarks about Keir Starmer became very much on the record after his criticisms of the current Prime Minister's resistance to joining the US efforts in Iran made their way into the press. Jon and Lewis discuss why Downing Street is unlikely to be losing any sleep from the advice being dished out by its former occupant.

The News Agents is brought to you by HSBC UK Beyond Business Ownership - https://grp.hsbc/BeyondBusinessOwnership


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: 100

The News Agents
Podcast Episodes
18 months to live to Winter Paralympic history - The Sports Agents [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 21:38
When the Winter Paralympics get underway this weekend in Italy history will be made. Davy Zyw was diagnosed with motor neurone disease at the age of 30 and given 18 months to live… but he’s now 38 and he’s going to be th…
Has Starmer lost control of his cabinet over Trump and Iran? [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 40:56
Much of the coverage of the Iran conflict this week has been trying to understand the British government’s position on America’s strikes. On Friday, Keir Starmer said that the UK would not allow American fighter jets hea…
Is Starmer ready to take on Trump? [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 37:31
Trump is furious with Starmer over his delay in granting the US access to UK bases as part of their military operation against Iran . He's called the UK "very uncooperative" and says Starmer has ruined relationships, eve…
Has Trump just ended the 'Special Relationship'? [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 34:55
You might think, just days into a major conflict in the Middle East, that Donald Trump and Keir Starmer would be speaking regularly, supporting each other, and coordinating among allies. That's how it normally works in t…
Is the UK at war with Iran or not? [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 38:17
Keir Starmer has agreed to a US request to use British military bases for "defensive" strikes on Iranian missile sites. But the Prime Minister said the UK has learned lessons from the "mistakes of Iraq", and was not invo…
Special Episode: Trump kills Iran's leader - what happens next? [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 36:42
Iranian state television confirmed this morning that the country's supreme leader had been killed by joint US-Israeli strikes. President Trump addressed the world from his beach resort Mar-a-Lago to declare that "freedom…
Have the Greens just replaced Reform as Labour's main threat? [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 43:28
For all Labour's insistence that the Gorton and Denton by-election was a straight fight between them and Reform - the Greens demonstrated in Greater Manchester that they are now a fighting force on the radical Left of Br…
The Royal Family: Abolish, reform or carry on? [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 40:58
The Royal family is no stranger to headlines, scandal and existential crisis. But with the arrest of Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor, the mood has shifted leaving the future of the Royals more uncertain than ever before. Can…
Mandelson vs the Met: What the hell just happened? [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 42:00
In a dramatic statement to MPs this morning, Commons speaker Sir Lindsay Hoyle revealed that he had felt "duty-bound" to report to the police what he had heard on a recent trip to the British Virgin Islands - that Peter…