The Guardian has refreshed the look and sound of its long-running Politics Weekly podcast, including a new release schedule and presenter.
From today (24 February), Politics Weekly relaunches as Politics Weekly UK and moves from Wednesdays to Thursdays, while Politics Weekly Extra is renamed Politics Weekly America and will be available every Friday, beginning tomorrow (25 February).
Award-winning Guardian columnist John Harris joins Politics Weekly UK as its new presenter, appearing alongside a regular cast of Guardian journalists and contributors to dissect the latest political news and opinion. Every Thursday, Politics Weekly UK will feature expert commentary and analysis, offering listeners a unique take on the latest goings-on in Westminster and across the UK.
John Harris, presenter of Politics Weekly UK, says:
“Politics Weekly UK is set to be an entertaining run-through of the week’s biggest political stories, building on the foundations established by the team over many years. Listeners can expect lively debate and insightful commentary from top Guardian journalists and contributors, alongside humour and irreverent chat that should hopefully offer something a little different to the other political podcasts out there. We’ll also aim to keep one foot in Westminster and one foot out, always striving to hear how politics is having an impact on people across the UK. I’m excited to get started in what’s already been an extraordinary, and wildly unpredictable, year for politics so far.”
John Harris is the creator and co-presenter of the Guardian’s Orwell Prize-winning video series Anywhere but Westminster, which has turned political coverage on its head across its decade-long history chronicling the experiences of people and places too often ignored.
From tomorrow (25 February), Politics Weekly Extra also relaunches as Politics Weekly America. The podcast will continue to be presented by Guardian columnist Jonathan Freedland every Friday, with guests from across the US analysing the latest in American politics. Politics Weekly Extra originally launched in 2020 in response to one of the most important and divisive presidential election campaigns in American history. The additional episode was an immediate success with listeners and has continued ever since.
Nicole Jackson, head of audio, Guardian News & Media, says:
“The relaunch of Politics Weekly makes our intent clear to listeners; expert political analysis across two distinct UK and US editions, with high quality audio journalism that Guardian podcast listeners have come to expect.
Led by award-winning journalist John Harris, Politics Weekly UK will have an exciting new energy bringing together guests from Westminster and beyond for humorous and insightful conversations on the latest political news. Politics Weekly America, hosted by the Guardian’s estimable Jonathan Freedland, will continue to build on its success as the go-to-podcast for those wanting to understand the ins and outs of Washington politics. With the midterms taking place later this year, this is going to be an exciting time for American politics and Jonathan and the team will be covering it all.”
Politics Weekly is one of the Guardian’s most established podcasts. Beginning in 2006 as Westminster Weekly before becoming Politics Weekly in 2007, the first episode was recorded just outside the House of Commons and featured analysis of Gordon Brown’s first Queen’s speech as prime minister. There have been over 800 episodes of Politics Weekly since 2007 – a period that has seen four UK prime ministers and four US presidents.
The Guardian has been creating podcasts for over fifteen years, with the combined podcast network enjoying millions of listens every month. Listens to Guardian podcasts increased by over 14% in 2021, demonstrating a growing audience and a continued demand for quality audio journalism.
The relaunch of Politics Weekly follows an award-winning year for Guardian and Observer journalism, including winning the news website of the year award at the Press Awards and news provider of the year at the British Journalism Awards.
Notes to editors
About Guardian News & Media
Guardian News & Media (GNM) publishes theguardian.com, one of the world’s leading English-language news websites. Traffic from outside of the UK now represents around two-thirds of the Guardian’s total digital audience. In the UK, GNM publishes the Guardian newspaper six days a week, first published in 1821, and the world’s oldest Sunday newspaper, The Observer.
