
The Under-16s Social Media Ban Debate
17/1/2026 | 38 min
Today, we hear from Ian Russell, whose daughter Molly took her own life in 2017. An inquest found social media content contributed "more than minimally" to Molly’s death. Since then Ian has campaigned for greater safety online. So why is Ian opposed to a ban for under 16s?Laura and Paddy in the Newscast studio to discuss the arguments for and against, and why there seems to be increasing support for the idea in British politics.We also look at what’s happened in Australia, which introduced a ban last year. introduced a ban, Kemi Badenoch has come out to say that if she were in government the Conservative party would follow suit. Since then, Prime Minister Keir Starmer has said “all options are on the table” when it comes to protecting young people online.You can now listen to Newscast on a smart speaker. If you want to listen, just say "Ask BBC Sounds to play Newscast”. It works on most smart speakers.You can join our Newscast online community here: https://bbc.in/newscastdiscord Get in touch with Newscast by emailing [email protected] or send us a WhatsApp on +44 0330 123 9480.New episodes released every day. If you're in the UK, for more News and Current Affairs podcasts from the BBC, listen on BBC Sounds: https://bbc.in/4guXgXdNewscast brings you daily analysis of the latest political news stories from the BBC.The presenters were Laura Kuenssberg and Paddy O’Connell. It was made by Chris Flynn with Rufus Gray. The social producer was Sophie Millward. The technical producer was Mike Regaard. The weekend series producer is Chris Flynn. The assistant editor is Chris Gray. The senior news editor is Sam Bonham.

Can Robert Jenrick “Unite The Right”?
16/1/2026 | 23 min
Adam and Laura are joined by BBC political correspondent Joe Pike to break down Laura’s interview with Robert Jenrick. They discuss why he says he picked country over party and if his move could unite the right or divide it further.You can now listen to Newscast on a smart speaker. If you want to listen, just say "Ask BBC Sounds to play Newscast”. It works on most smart speakers. You can join our Newscast online community here: https://bbc.in/newscastdiscordGet in touch with Newscast by emailing [email protected] or send us a WhatsApp on +44 0330 123 9480.New episodes released every day. If you're in the UK, for more News and Current Affairs podcasts from the BBC, listen on BBC Sounds: https://bbc.in/4guXgXd Newscast brings you daily analysis of the latest political news stories from the BBC. The presenter was Adam Fleming. It was made by Anna Harris with Chloe Scannapieco and Jem Westgate. The social producer was Beth Pritchard. The technical producer was Mike Regaard. The assistant editor is Chris Gray. The senior news editor is Sam Bonham.

The Robert Jenrick Interview
16/1/2026 | 31 min
Laura speaks to Reform’s newest MP, Robert Jenrick, in his first full interview after he was sacked by the Conservatives and hired by Reform just over 24 hours ago.You can now listen to Newscast on a smart speaker. If you want to listen, just say "Ask BBC Sounds to play Newscast”. It works on most smart speakers. You can join our Newscast online community here: https://bbc.in/newscastdiscordGet in touch with Newscast by emailing [email protected] or send us a WhatsApp on +44 0330 123 9480.New episodes released every day. If you're in the UK, for more News and Current Affairs podcasts from the BBC, listen on BBC Sounds: https://bbc.in/4guXgXd Newscast brings you daily analysis of the latest political news stories from the BBC. The presenter were Adam Fleming and Laura Kuenssberg. The assistant editor is Chris Gray. The senior news editor is Sam Bonham.

Jenrick Joins Reform!
15/1/2026 | 22 min
In the 2000th episode of Newscast, Adam and Chris return for second helpings as Robert Jenrick’s defection to Reform is confirmed.Following his dramatic sacking via social media this morning, Jenrick appeared on stage with Reform leader Nigel Farage this afternoon to announce that he was joining the party.Farage told reporters that although they had been negotiating the possibility of Jenrick joining Reform - the deal wasn’t done until Kemi Badenoch made her move this morning. You can now listen to Newscast on a smart speaker. If you want to listen, just say "Ask BBC Sounds to play Newscast”. It works on most smart speakers. You can join our Newscast online community here: https://bbc.in/newscastdiscordGet in touch with Newscast by emailing [email protected] or send us a WhatsApp on +44 0330 123 9480.New episodes released every day. If you're in the UK, for more News and Current Affairs podcasts from the BBC, listen on BBC Sounds: https://bbc.in/4guXgXd Newscast brings you daily analysis of the latest political news stories from the BBC. The presenter was Adam Fleming. It was made by Anna Harris with Shiler Mahmoudi and Chloe Scannapieco. The social producer was Beth Pritchard. The technical producer was Mike Regaard. The assistant editor is Chris Gray. The senior news editor is Sam Bonham.

Badenoch sacks Jenrick!
15/1/2026 | 33 min
Kemi Badenoch has sensationally sacked shadow minister Robert Jenrick claiming he was secretly plotting to defect from the party in a way that was “as damaging as possible”. Reform has refused to confirm if Jenrick was planning to defect, although party leader Nigel Farage has said he ‘might’ buy him a sympathy pint. While Labour and the Lib Dems have been quick off the mark to take advantage of the political unrest by creating memes. Adam and Laura are joined from Westminster by Henry Zeffman and Alex Forsyth to break down what we know. You can now listen to Newscast on a smart speaker. If you want to listen, just say "Ask BBC Sounds to play Newscast”. It works on most smart speakers. You can join our Newscast online community here: https://bbc.in/newscastdiscordGet in touch with Newscast by emailing [email protected] or send us a WhatsApp on +44 0330 123 9480.New episodes released every day. If you're in the UK, for more News and Current Affairs podcasts from the BBC, listen on BBC Sounds: https://bbc.in/4guXgXd Newscast brings you daily analysis of the latest political news stories from the BBC. The presenter was Adam Fleming. It was made by Anna Harris with Shiler Mahmoudi and Chloe Scannapieco. The social producers were Joe Wilkinson and Gabriel Purcell-Davis. The technical producers were Ben Andrews and Mike Regaard. The assistant editor is Chris Gray. The senior news editor is Sam Bonham.



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