The Evening Standard’s editorial column, known in newspaper terms as the leader, has been one of the most influential voices in London for nearly 200 years. Now you can hear it.

“The Leader” is a major new daily podcast from the newsroom of the Evening Standard, produced by an audio news team which is also developing interactive ‘voice A.I’ current affairs content for smart speakers.

Released at 4pm (Monday-Friday), the 15-minute long show brings exclusive opinion and analysis from the paper’s best journalists, including extracts from the column itself.

“Our editorial column has always spoken for our readers - now you can hear it too, I’m excited that the Evening Standard is at the forefront of change - bringing people the news in a different, modern way. In these turbulent times, this podcast will help you stay ahead of the news.”

George Osborne , Editor, Evening Standard

The podcast will launch as an initial 3-month pilot series during an unprecedented time of upheaval in UK politics. It is being produced by the Evening Standard’s new audio news team, which will provide documentary-style reports, giving listeners some of the first analysis-led coverage of the day’s events.

“Our audio team have been working on a number of exciting tech, content and commercial opportunities and partnerships over the last 18 months and this podcast will bring together the best of all that hard work.”

David Tomchak , Digital Editor-in-Chief, Evening Standard

Additionally, they are working in partnership with Google to create short form news stories on the Assistant, and releasing bulletins for Amazon Alexa.

“London doesn’t stop innovating, and neither do we. Daily podcasts, Voice AI and smart speakers provide an opportunity to build interactive, habit-forming relationships with new and existing audiences, and to continue our unprecedented digital growth – in the UK and beyond.”

Chris Stone , Executive Producer of Video & Audio, Evening Standard

The Leader launches at 4pm on September 30th. It will feature voices from across the newsroom, led by broadcast journalist David Marsland.

The paper is also announcing the return of its popular “Women Tech Charge” podcast, hosted by Dr Anne-Marie Imafidon MBE and celebrating women pioneering in science, technology, engineering and maths.

It launches on October 8th, Ada Lovelace Day, with Countdown presenter Rachel Riley discussing her battle against online trolls. Future guests include former F1 driver Susie Wolff MBE, and Dame Jocelyn Bell-Burnell, whose work on discovering the pulsar is considered one of the most significant scientific achievements of the 20th Century.