Matt Wolf of ‘The New York Times International’ joins Georgina Godwin in the studio to discuss the latest theatre news.

John Everard, former British diplomat who served as the UK’s ambassador to Uruguay, Belarus and North Korea, joins the programme to discuss the latest on Victor Manuel Rocha, a former US ambassador who has been charged with serving as an agent for Cuba for more than 40 years.

Charles Hecker joins Emma Nelson for a flip through the papers, looking at a US espionage scandal, claims that Boris Johnson considered a ‘raid’ on a Dutch vaccine plant and the quest to recreate what people in Japan ate 13 centuries ago.

The Oxford English Dictionary (OED) has named its word of the year: “rizz”, a term made especially popular after its use on TV by Hollywood actor Tom Holland. Fiona McPherson, senior editor at the OED, explains to Monocle’s Andrew Mueller what it means.

After a seven-day pause to allow for the release of Israeli hostages and Palestinian prisoners, war has resumed in Gaza. Qatar has confirmed that talks are ongoing between Israel and Hamas but the Hamas-controlled Health Ministry says that 32 people have been killed in Gaza today. During another visit to Israel, the US secretary of state, Anthony Blinken, has told his hosts that they must account for the safety of Palestinian civilians.

Steve Crawshaw, former Director of Human Rights Watch UK, discusses Strategic Lawsuits Against Public Participation (Slapp), which is most frequently used by large organisations or companies to target individuals or activists. Now the EU has come up with an agreed legal approach to handle such cases to protect journalists and human rights advocates.