Popular current affairs podcast The News Agents is set to launch a new spin-off focusing on US news, the team behind the show has announced.
Unveiled today aduring a panel discussion at The Podcast Show in London, The News Agents: USA will launch next month on 20 June. The podcast will feature two-thirds of the original’s core cast - Jon Sopel and Emily Maitlis - joined by “lots of voices from the US” discussing a range of important issues, including next year’s presidential election.
“[It’s] a big presidential year coming up,” Maitlis said. “All the candidates, all the analysis - plus all the cultural stuff that's happening, whether it's about the abortion laws, whether it's about gun laws, lack of gun laws, whether it's about Twitter and Musk and things collapsing.”
The new show sees Maitlis and Sopel - who was North America editor for the BBC prior to joining The News Agents - returning to their roots as co-hosts of Americast, a BBC podcast which covered the previous US election in 2020, created by producer Dino Sofos prior to his departure from the BBC. After leaving the broadcaster, Sofos established production company Persephonica and created The News Agents, which is hosted and distributed by Global.
"We still have people coming up to us going, I really miss you two on Americast," Sofos said. "The other reason we decided to launch this is when we do America on the podcast, it really does well. Our second most listened-to episode had Donald Trump in the title. So… when America starts hotting up, it's a really good vehicle to do it. But I just remember producing that old show, and you're in your element when you're talking about America, so it's gonna be really, really fun."
Unlike The News Agents, the new US version will be a weekly show with new episodes every wednesday, in contrast to the original’s daily format. The new show also closely follows the launch of Pod Save The UK - a new UK-focused offshoot of Pod Save America, which debuted earlier this month.
"We are delighted to produce the US version of The News Agents,” said Vicky Etchells, head of news and factual podcasts at Global, “which joins Global's chart-topping podcast line-up. Emily and Jon will offer a fresh perspective on all things stateside as we enter the next phase of American politics ahead of the US Presidential election next year.”
