logo
episode-header-image
Mar 2022
30m 46s

The Punchline

BBC News
About this episode

Controversy at the Oscars as Will Smith hits Chris Rock… Adam is joined by the BBC’s Culture Editor Katie Razzall and LA-based entertainment reporter KJ Matthews to discuss the background to the slap - and the possible repercussions.

Also… the UK ambassador to Ukraine Melinda Simmons – currently in Warsaw - talks Biden, getting out of Kyiv and her own Ukrainian background.

This edition of Newscast was made by Tim Walklate, John Murphy and Chris Flynn. Emma Crowe was the technical producer. Sam Bonham is the assistant editor.

Up next
Oct 8
Conservative Conference: Kemi Badenoch’s Career Saving Speech?
Today, Kemi Badenoch gave a speech at the Conservative party conference. Adam, Chris, and Henry Zeffman were listening and give their immediate reaction.She announced a flurry of new policies, including abolishing stamp duty and introducing a fiscal “golden rule”. Did she manage ... Show More
34m 30s
Oct 7
Conservative Conference: “It’s Tough Being A Tory”
Today, how much political danger are the Conservative party in?Adam and Chris are at Conservative party conference in Manchester where some comments from shadow justice secretary Robert Jenrick have dominated the headlines. In a recording reportedly made during a dinner and publi ... Show More
38m 39s
Oct 6
Will Trump’s Gaza Peace Plan Work?
Today, negotiators from Israel and Hamas head to Sharm El-Sheikh in Egypt to start indirect talks over an end to the Israel-Gaza war. It appears this is the closest both sides have come to a deal since the war began two years ago. But Donald Trump's 20-point peace plan - which Is ... Show More
37m 28s
Recommended Episodes
Feb 2023
The anniversary
Ukrainians gather for a special broadcast at the BBC Radio Theatre, hosted by Ukrainecast and Newsnight. They share their fears for families at home, feelings of guilt about escaping to safety and the need for justice. Host Victoria Derbyshire, BBC Monitoring’s Russia editor Vita ... Show More
39m 13s
Mar 2022
'War criminal'
Ukraine has accused Russian forces of bombing a theatre filled with sheltering civilians in the city of Mariupol. Gabriel and Vitaly speak to Dmytro Gurin, a Ukrainian MP from Mariupol, to find out what happened. They’re also joined by Bridget Kendall, former BBC Moscow correspon ... Show More
34m 54s
Mar 2022
Ports under siege
Russian forces have taken control of the key port city of Kherson. And at another port, Mariupol, people are now trapped by intense bombardments. Victoria speaks to a Kherson resident about what it’s like suddenly living under Russian rule.Jonah Fisher, who until recently was the ... Show More
34m 41s
Mar 2022
Hospital attacked
A maternity ward and children’s ward at a hospital in Mariupol have been destroyed in a Russian air strike, according to officials there. At the moment we don’t know how many people have died. Russia editor at BBC Monitoring Vitaly Shevchenko and Abdujalil Abdurasulov, who’s a vi ... Show More
39m 54s
Mar 2022
Ukrainecast + Global News Podcast
We link up with the BBC World Service...On the 13th day of the Russian invasion into Ukraine we collaborate with the Global News Podcast to answer your questions. Jackie Leonard (from the GNP), alongside Gabriel Gatehouse and Vitaliy Shevchenko (from UC), guide us through questio ... Show More
37m 39s
Mar 2022
Curfew in Kyiv
More Russian strikes have hit residential buildings in Kyiv. As tower blocks burn, Mayor Vitaly Klitschko has announced a 35-hour curfew, warning of “a difficult and dangerous moment”. Victoria, Gabriel and Vitaly get the latest on the ground and hear from surgeon Dr Andrey Vysot ... Show More
37m 34s
Apr 2022
Cold-calling Russia
As footage emerges that appears to show war crimes being committed by Ukrainian soldiers we speak to one of the BBC’s team of journalists working to establish if the material is authentic.We hear from a man who’s made the decision to go home to Kyiv after having fled when war bro ... Show More
34m 27s
Nov 2023
The Ukrainians dodging the draft
Thousands of men have fled Ukraine to avoid conscription, according to a BBC investigation. The BBC’s Kateryna Khinkulova joins us in the studio to explore why, as well as the moral dilemma facing those who attempt to escape the draft.Sam Cranny-Evans from the London-based securi ... Show More
25m 53s
Mar 2024
'Oscar Wars' book looks behind the scenes at the award show
The City reporter Gwynne Hogan talks about how New York officials are handling a housing crisis as migrants arrive in the city. And, NPR's Jackie Northam breaks down the Houthi missile attack that killed three people on Wednesday. Then, New Yorker writer Michael Schulman talks ab ... Show More
24m 20s
Feb 2024
‘Where globalism goes to die’: inside the US right at CPAC
It’s billed as the most influential gathering of conservatives in the world: CPAC, or the Conservative Political Action Conference. In the past, it’s brought US Republican leaders together with activists on the right. In recent years, though, it’s catered to one particular leader ... Show More
23m 1s