Why did the US seize a Russian-flagged oil tanker? episode artwork

EPISODE · Jan 8, 2026 · 30 MIN

Why did the US seize a Russian-flagged oil tanker?

from The News Meeting

How did the seizure of a Russian oil tanker unfold? Is President Trump’s crypto-profeteering a bigger scandal than Watergate? And with the United States turning 250, is this a time to reflect on the UK-US special relationship? Giles Whittell is joined by The Observer’s Vanessa Thorpe and James Tapper, plus special guest - the host of The Making of Musk: Understood, Jacob Silverman. Today they battle it out to see who can pitch the story that should lead the news.You can find Understood wherever you get your podcasts, and here: https://link.mgln.ai/NewsMeetingxMoM **We want to hear what you think! Email us at: [email protected] Follow us on Social Media: @ObserverUK on X @theobserveruk on Instagram and [email protected]‬ on bluesky Host: Giles Whittell Producer: Casey Magloire Executive Producer: Jasper Corbett and Gary Marshall To find out more about The Observer:Subscribe to The Observer today and get access to:Our podcasts before anyone elseA daily edition, curated by our editors 7 days a weekPuzzles from the inventors of the cryptic crosswordRecipes for every occasionFree tickets to join Observer events in our newsroom or online Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Episode metadata supplied by the publisher feed · Published Jan 8, 2026

Embed this episode

NOW PLAYING

Why did the US seize a Russian-flagged oil tanker?

0:00 30:54

No transcript for this episode yet

We transcribe on demand. Request one and we'll notify you when it's ready — usually under 10 minutes.

No similar episodes found.

No similar podcasts found.

Frequently Asked Questions

How long is this episode of The News Meeting?

This episode is 30 minutes long.

When was this The News Meeting episode published?

This episode was published on January 8, 2026.

Can I download this The News Meeting episode?

Yes. Use the download control on the episode player to save the publisher-provided media file.
URL copied to clipboard!