The latest disclosure from the U.S. Department of Justice’s investigation of Jeffrey Epstein is threatening the U.K. ruling government.
New documents have led Peter Mandelson, a former ambassador to the U.S., to resign from Britain’s House of Lords and from the Labour Party.
The fallout has already claimed two key staff members close to Prime Minister Keir Starmer, and some in his own party are calling for him to step down too.
Edward Luce, chief U.S. commentator for the Financial Times, helps explain the scandal – and why the reaction in the U.K. differs from the U.S.
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This episode was produced by Jordan-Marie Smith and Connor Donevan, with audio engineering by Hannah Gluvna. It was edited by Patrick Jarenwattananon and Michael Levitt. Our executive producer is Sami Yenigun.
What's the difference between an assassination and a garden-variety murder? Where does the term 'assassin' actually come from, and how did an obscure sect founded almost one thousand years ago fundamentally change the course of history as we know it? Tune in for the answers to these questions and more in the first part of this special two-part series.
Keir Starmer's judgment is being questioned over his past appointment as ambassador to the United States of Peter Mandelson, a British peer with deep personal connections to the convicted paedophile Jeffrey Epstein. Can he survive as prime minister? We hear the latest from our reporter in parliament. And as Epstein's accomplice Ghislaine Maxwell invokes the Fifth Amendment, declining to answer questions before the US House Oversight Committee, we catch up with the political reaction.
Also in the programme: American tech giants Meta and Google go on trial in California - they're accused of harming children by knowingly creating addictive social media platforms. And the French government sends letters to every 29-year-old in the country, exhorting them to have babies while their biological clocks are still ticking.
(Photo: Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer leaving 10 Downing Street, London. Credit: James Manning/PA Wire)
P.M. Edition for Feb. 9. When Chinese company Fuyao opened an automotive glass plant in Moraine, Ohio, its competition threatened about 250 jobs at a rival glass factory from a company called Vitro. WSJ trade and industrial policy reporter Gavin Bade visited Ohio to understand the risks of Chinese investment in manufacturing in the U.S. Plus, a housing bill set for a vote in the House as soon as tonight doesn’t feature one of President Trump’s signature housing proposals: a ban on Wall Street investors buying single-family homes. Rebecca Picciotto, who covers residential real estate for the Journal, breaks down how President Trump’s ideas for the U.S. housing crisis differ from plans on Capitol Hill. And longtime Epstein associate Ghislaine Maxwell declined to answer questions from Congress. Alex Ossola hosts.
Plus: Alphabet sells bonds that aren’t due for 100 years. And Australian startup Neara raises more than $60 million as data centers put pressure on power grids. Julie Chang hosts.
Plus: Kroger shares rise after announcing a new CEO. And Nexstar stock jumps after President Trump announced a potential tie-up with Tegna. Katherine Sullivan hosts.
An artificial-intelligence tool assisted in the making of this episode by creating summaries that were based on Wall Street Journal reporting and reviewed and adapted by an editor.
Big Tech spending on equipment and AI appears to be close to $400 billion over the four quarters alone. Are there losers outside the free-spending tech titans? Jason Hall and Travis Hoium join Tim Beyers to talk through the numbers and name two that may be at risk.
Jason Hall, Travis Hoium, and Tim Beyers discuss:
- Fallout from quarterly reports from Kyndryl (KD) and monday..com (MNDY) and what may be next for both.
- Why the capex spending won't slow anytime soon.
- Whether the debt-fueled growth at CoreWeave (CRWV) and Oracle (ORCL) is sustainable over the long term.
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There’s a new social media platform for AI agents, but things are getting weird. It’s called Moltbook, and agents use it to apparently talk about things like coding and dating profiles, but also about overthrowing their human overlords and forming their own lobster religion. Initially, Moltbook shocked even some of the most experienced AI researchers, but how much of that is just humans messing around? WSJ’s Angel Au Yeung explains what’s actually happening on the site and how it came to be. Ryan Knuston hosts.
Trump of course hated Bad Bunny's halftime performance, but even he wasn't running the Turning Point alternative at Mar-a-Lago. And a couple of Olympic skiers expressing disapproval of ICE or calling for love and respect for immigrants and their fellow Americans sent MAGA into hyperdrive—with calls for the athletes to be denaturalized and deported. Meanwhile, Kash Patel stopped an investigation into the killing of Renee Good because it could make Trump look bad, and this is the week for Dems to stay on offense over the DHS funding bill. Plus, Jon Ossoff hit the right notes in a key speech in Georgia, the National Review is reporting on Trump's corruption, Lutnick did George Costanza-grade lying over his business ties to Epstein, and no, Tim is not running for Senate.
Tickets are now on sale for our LIVE shows in Dallas on March 18 and in Austin on March 19. Plus, a small number of seats are still available for our second show in Minneapolis on February 18. TheBulwark.com/Events.
