´óÏó´«Ã½

Here's Kirsty Wark with a look ahead to tonight's programme:

Tonight Newsnight and Newsnight Review present one big, special programme live from Times Square in New York.

With just four days to go until what is arguably the most exciting Presidential election in decades, we'll have the latest from the campaign, and will be assessing the impact on politics and culture of the Bush years.

I'll be joined by the West Wing actor, director and radio talk show host Ron Silver, the writer and critic Joe Queenan, the Conservative commentator Kathleen Parker, and the stand-up comic and political editor of The Onion, Baratunde Thurston.

In an extended programme Peter Marshall will be in Washington assessing whether the race is tightening in the key swing states.

We'll be debating the role of race and gender in the campaign. I've just done an interview with the one time Democrat Vice Presidential Candidate Geraldine Ferraro - the first woman ever to appear on a presidential ticket. A few weeks ago she said that Barack Obama wouldn't have been successful in the Presidential race if he was white. So, has she since decided to endorse him? Find out tonight...

Also, the Nobel Prize winning author, Toni Morrison, has been talking to me about her new novel about slavery, A Mercy, and explaining that she believes some African Americans have a problem with the fact that Obama is not from a slave family.

Iraq too has had a big place in the campaign. Film director Oliver Stone - chronicler of modern America, Vietnam, Wall Street and Presidents - talks to me about W his biopic about George W Bush's first term, which he tells me was an attempt to understand Bush and his motivations for the Iraq war.

We'll also be reviewing the HBO drama Generation Kill, the raw and unflinching TV series following the 1st Recon Marines as they battle their way to Baghdad. The films, from the makers of The Wire, are based on the book of the same name penned by Rolling Stone journalist, Even Wright, embedded with the Marines. The series is peppered with many uncompromising scenes showing terrible mistakes made by the Command, which have devastating consequences.

Generation Kill will be shown in the UK on FX TV in January.

And here's an astonishing figure - $450 million - reckoned to be the final tally of the spend by Obama and McCain on TV "infomercials" during the campaign. That's more than has ever been spent before. We'll be talking about the unprecedented role of the media in the election - on TV - on the web- and the avalanche of "political bodice-rippers" in the bookshops.

Please join me for a programme that promises to be frank, feisty and fun on this Halloween night.

Kirsty

Here is Emily Maitlis with details of tonight's programme.

´óÏó´«Ã½:

Breaking news - the Controller of ´óÏó´«Ã½ Radio 2 has just resigned. She said the Ross/Brand debacle happened on her watch and she apologised to Andrew Sachs, his family and to the audience. But does it end here - unlikely. More news is expected throughout the course of the evening and we'll have full details tonight. And we're hoping to get an interview with Mark Thompson, the ´óÏó´«Ã½ Director General once we know more.

GLENROTHES:

Another Scottish by-election, but this time in greatly changed circumstances. Will the economic crisis play to Labour's strengths when voters go to the polls in Glenrothes a week today? Michael Crick is gauging opinion there for us.

FLORIDA:

And before we get there, the small matter of another polling date looms. Any politico will tell you Florida is as famous for its hanging chads as it is for its palm trees. This swing state is now too close to call. So as the fight to be US President nears its close, we speak to Joe Klein, of Primary Colours fame, and to a senior Republican strategist. I shall ask them about the dual concerns of triumphalism and defeatism.

NEW YORK, NEW YORK:

And Kirsty is in New York asking what eight years of George Bush has meant for the US cultural scene.

Join us tonight on ´óÏó´«Ã½ TWO at 10.30pm.

Emily

Here's Kirsty Wark with details of Friday's Newsnight Review from New York.

I'm in NYC for a special edition of Newsnight and Newsnight Review tomorrow night and you can see a teaser of the show and my top guests on tonight's programme and at .

We'll be looking at the American cultural scene as the Bush era comes to a close and I want to know what YOU think about the big issues we're debating.

How profoundly do you think American culture has changed under George W Bush? Is there a piece of art, a book or a film which best sums up the Bush era?

Do you think conservative artists and cultural figures could have done more to reflect George W Bush's vision in writing, film, comedy or does art by its very nature react against a country's rulers?

Would a President McCain or Obama fare the same?

And what is the role of culture during economic crisis - can art reflect the credit crunch?

Kirsty.

Here is Emily Maitlis with details of tonight's programme.

´óÏó´«Ã½ Comedy:

"I only do the radio show to make people laugh and given the subsequent coverage I will stop doing the show." - Radio 2 comedian, Russell Brand.

As the Ross/Brand furore reaches unfathomable heights, Russell Brand announced this evening he would be resigning from the ´óÏó´«Ã½. In his statement he took full responsibility for the ill fated comedy sketch and said he hoped Jonathan Ross and the ´óÏó´«Ã½ would endure 'less forensic wrath'.

Tonight we discuss the rise of this debacle - more than 18,000 audience complaints and a presence in PMQs - and ask what this will change within the realms of ´óÏó´«Ã½ comedy. Will the comedians be less willing to put themselves on the line? Will the ´óÏó´«Ã½ go back to doing what many think it does best - the mainstream approach. Does the late night risque comedian have a place anyway on the public broadcaster?
We'll be talking to ´óÏó´«Ã½ comedians and commentators here in the studio.

Congo:

The Congolese rebel leader, Laurent Nkunda, whose forces have been advancing on the major eastern city of Goma, says he is declaring a unilateral ceasefire. Thousands of people have poured into Goma to escape fighting between Mr Nkunda's rebels and Congolese government forces, some of whom have also withdrawn back into the city. Mr Nkunda said the goal of his forces was to protect his Tutsi community from attack by Rwandan Hutu rebels, some of whom are accused of taking part in the 1994 genocide. Tonight, as UN secretary general Ban Ki Moon warns the situation in the east of the country could have tragic consequences for the entire region we ask what role the UN peacekeepers - 17,000 - have in this conflict.

Economy:

In the States the Fed has cut interest rates half a point to one percent. Here, the Chancellor has stressed the need for a flexible approach to borrowing to shore up the economy. Read that as the definitive end to those long-nurtured fiscal rules and the start of a whole lot more debt. Paul Mason, our economics editor, is on the case.

US:

The only person whose finances don't appear to be hit by the economic downturn is Barak Obama. He will pay for THIRTY MINUTES of prime time advertising on the US airwaves tonight. A chance to hit the message home once and for all - or a bit of media overkill? We'll be reporting from America.

Computer Climate Change:

And by 2020 could computers be a bigger threat to the climate than the aviation industry? Susan Watts has the evidence. Do get an advance preview by reading her blog.

Do join us this evening at 10.30pm on ´óÏó´«Ã½2

Emily

Here's Gavin Esler with details of tonight's programme.

Georgia

We have an amazing film tonight which alleges serious human rights abuses by Georgian forces - that's right Georgian forces - in South Ossetia at the start of the conflict with Russia this summer. Our correspondent Tim Whewell is the first Western journalist to have been given unrestricted access to South Ossetia. He has heard powerful eyewitness testimony from people who say they came under fire from Georgian troops. I will be speaking to the Georgian president Mikhail Saakashvili about the allegations.

The ´óÏó´«Ã½

If you watch or listen to Russell Brand you probably know what you are going to get. It is perhaps not surprising that only two of Russell Brand's listeners initially complained about the obscene prank in which he and Jonathan Ross left offensive messages on the answerphone of the actor Andrew Sachs. But nor is it surprising that Mr Sachs was offended or that one daily newspaper called for Ross and Brand to be sacked and that the ´óÏó´«Ã½ has since received over 10,000 complaints. We hope to debate how far one man's offensive behaviour is another man's humour and will also assess the ´óÏó´«Ã½'s response to the story.

America

If the polls in America are correct - and yes, that really is a health warning because I don't trust them very much - then Barack Obama will be the next president of the United States and the Democrats will run Congress. A triumph? Again - it's a personal view - but I don't think so. I remember that the worst years of Bill Clinton's presidency were not the Lewinsky affair but 1993 and 1994 when the Democrats held on to every lever of power in Washington - and made a mess of it. We'll have the latest on the campaign and consider whether the Democrats really are in for a big win - and if so whether that could make things difficult for Obama.

Gavin

Newsnight Review will be coming from New York this week. Ahead of this special edition, Kirsty Wark interviewed Toni Morrison, author of 'A Mercy'

Toni Morrison's new novel 'A Mercy' is set in America in 1690 when the country was in chaos - different states belonged to different countries - religions jostled with each other, slavery was growing but not yet institutionalised and indentured servants of all nationalities were bound to gentry, and bought and sold too. 'A Mercy' follows the fate of a group of mainly women - African, American, Native American, mixed race and white - under the ownership, one way or another, of a Dutchman.

When I interviewed Toni Morrison here in New York for Friday night's Newsnight and Newsnight Review special, she explained that she had carried out extensive research and even she was shocked by some of old papers related to the slave trade - that the trade encompassed so many races in the 17th century. She also read passages from the novel. Toni Morrison is regarded as the unofficial keeper of the historical African American experience, but with this book she explores the dense and tangled roots of modern America.

She is a wonderful interviewee - thoughtful, moving, and always with a twinkle in her eye. She also talks about next week's election, and the fact that she supports Obama as a 'post racial candidate'. I put it to her that she was ahead of the curve on that, and she volunteered something that surprised me, that for some African Americans the fact that Obama was not of a slave family, and that he was raised by a white mother and grandmother was an issue. She also discussed the economy and says there will have to be a fundamental change in the way Americans lead their lives - fewer things and the return of thrift.

Kirsty.

Here is Gavin Esler with a look ahead to tonight's programme.

Tonight from the Newsnight House of (Economic) Horrors:

The Prime Minister and Chancellor are steadily ripping up all those rules about borrowing and spending which they assured us back in 1997 would never be broken. Gordon Brown has warned us that borrowing will have to go up, and the Treasury are busy writing new fiscal rules to guide us through the downturn. The independence and remit of the Bank of England is also under intense pressure as politicians and business call for a rate cut. So what is the Government's plan now for the economy and can we trust them to get it right this time?

America

It ain't over till it's over - though the polls still look good for Obama. But might he still fall at the last hurdle? John McCain clearly thinks so, campaigning hard in the keystone state of Pennsylvania - without which he cannot win the presidency. Can McCain - as he has done before - still win in the end? Or are those Republicans who want to forget about the presidency and spend more funds on the Senate and Congressional races on the right track? We'll speak to a senior Republican critic and a McCain supporter.

Typhoid

Earlier this year Newsnight reported on women typhoid carriers locked away in mental institutions as a public health measure. Tonight we've an exclusive update.

And finally

Continuing our series of Jokes fit for the Recession: I talked to my bank manager the other day and he said he was going to concentrate on the big issues from now on. He sold me one outside Boots yesterday.

Truly awful. We need better material. But we'll be sharing the proceeds of (negative) growth tonight on Newsnight at 10.30pm.

Gavin

Here's Gavin Esler with details of tonight's programme.

Quote for the Day

"Don't screw it up, buddy" - What Michelle Obama told her husband Barack, the Democrat candidate for the White House, before he made a big speech.

In tonight's programme:

Michelle Obama's words might be taken to heart by politicians round the world, as the real impact of the credit crunch continues to worsen. Newsnight these days is not for the faint hearted as - whether we are entering a recession or not and whether we're heading for a slump - things are on the slide, stock markets round the world have taken another tumble and the pound has dropped yet again against the dollar. We hope to have a stellar cast in our nightly brains trust - including Francis Fukuyama - to tell us what more he thinks governments can do.

Deripaska

Of course we could always go off and borrow a few quid from a passing oligarch. Who is this Oleg Deripaska whose acquaintance has proved so toxic for Peter Mandelson and George Osborne? We've a special report on the billionaire behind the headlines. You can read john Sweeney's article on Oleg Deripaska and the Russian metal trade .

And finally

Another in our Jokes Fit For a Recession sent in by Newsnight viewer Dick Carbutt:
Quote from a city trader: "This downturn is worse than a divorce. I've lost half my net worth and I still have a wife."

Newsnight will be trying - in Michelle Obama's words - not to screw up, at 10.30 pm on ´óÏó´«Ã½2.

Gavin

Here's Martha Kearney with details of tonight's Newsnight Review.

We're starting Halloween celebrations early with a haunted edition of Newsnight Review and a bewitching panel - Candace Bushnell, Will Self, Ekow Eshun and Sarah Churchwell.

Ghost Town

We begin with Ghost Town which is Ricky Gervais's first film in which he plays the lead. After the awful characters in The Office and Extras, he takes on the role of another extremely irritating man Bertram Pincus. He's a British dentist working in Manhattan who after a near death experience on the operating table can suddenly see the dead. Apparently at one press conference, a US journalist praised Gervais for the fake teeth he wore in the film. They were real.

The Widows of Eastwick

We stay with the supernatural for John Updike's sequel to The Witches of Eastwick. The temptresses are much older now, living apart. In The Widows of Eastwick we see them return to the Rhode Island resort town where the counter culture they loved has disappeared.

Little Dorrit

Our third item features a spook, well a former one, Matthew Macfadyen who is one of a plethora of stars in Andrew Davies' new adaptation of Dickens' novel Little Dorrit for ´óÏó´«Ã½ One. This story of literal and figurative imprisonment takes the same form as the highly successful Bleak House. Will it be as successful?

Byzantium

And we will end with the new Royal Academy exhibition Byzantium. This has brought together treasures from all over the world to celebrate the culture which lasted from the foundation of Constantinople in 330 to its sacking by the Turks in 1453.

I hope you will join us tonight. Be afraid.

Martha

Here is Gavin Esler with details of tonight's programme.

Quote for the Day

"Craftsmanship is the way forward. It's perfect for the credit crunch. Things like knitting and so on are very important and very English. It's definitely a good time to start making your own things" - Henry Conway, fashionista son of Tory MP Derek Conway.

In tonight's programme, we will of course be knitting our own Newsnight.

The Economy

We'll be casting on with tomorrow's GDP figures which are expected to demonstrate that the UK is indeed in a recession. We want to explore what that means in terms of unemployment, housing, retail sales, the kinds of things that those of us who do not spend time on yachts with Russian oligarchs tend to worry about.
We'll also consider what the best economic forecasters are saying about the recession, the likely impact and which areas are likely to be hit hardest.

We'll be discussing with Steve Easterbrook, President and Chief Executive of McDonald's, Sushil Wadhwani, who was a member of the Bank of England's Monetary Policy Committee, and Richard Lambert, Director-General of the CBI.

Going Cheap

We'll have the latest in Stephen Smith's series Going Cheap on strategies to beat the crunch - knitting, I am reliably informed, is not among Steve's topics for tonight. In fact he's talking about how we're going places in the squeeze. You can watch Steve's first Going Cheap film - on rescuing stuff from becoming obsolete - .

US election

And we'll have the final film in our series of reports from our specialist editors in the run-up to the US election. Tonight our Science Editor Susan Watts asks whether America is ready for life beyond oil. You can watch Susan's film right now - - and catch up with all the films in the series - .

Jokes fit for the recession

And finally, in a new Newsnight strand - Jokes Fit For the Recession, Stephen Smith kicks us off with the following news of John Darwin, the canoeist who faked his own death.

Apparently, he's disappeared from prison! He was last seen in the gym... on the rowing machine...

I expect Stephen will be appearing in Panto later in the year...

Newsnight is on ´óÏó´«Ã½2 at 10.30.

Gavin

Here is today's output editor Dan Kelly with a look ahead to tonight's programme. Our presenter is Jeremy Paxman.

Economy

Today the Prime Minister followed up last night's admission from the Governor of the Bank of England. He conceded that Britain might well already be in recession. Is it possible that the emerging economies could be the key to ensuring that the downturn is not prolonged, and not worldwide? Tonight we investigate how the emerging powerhouse economies of Brazil, India and China are coping with the global downturn, and whether their fate could seal ours.

Conservatives

"If you sleep with dogs, you will get fleas", was Lord Tebbit's response to the claims that Shadow Chancellor George Osborne discussed the possibility of a donation from a Russian oligarch. It's not quite the image David Cameron wanted to portray. We'll ask another Lord - Lord Heseltine - whether the sight of Tories "palling around" with the super rich may damage the meritocratic modern Tory brand.

US elections

And we have the third in our series from the Newsnight Editors in America. Every night they have been giving their considered take on what post- Bush America might look like. Tonight our Political Editor, Michael Crick, considers whether Obama or McCain can ever really change Washington, as both of them have promised.

Here is today's output editor Robert Morgan with a look ahead to tonight's programme. Our presenter is Jeremy Paxman.

Yacht-gate

What happened on a yacht in Corfu this summer? That's the question that we've spent the day trying to answer. The story that's unfolding involves a member of the Rothschild family, the shadow chancellor, a cabinet minister, a Russian oligarch and a network forged by students at Oxford University.

The Conservatives are strongly denying the allegations at the heart of this affair - that they initiated a discussion with Russia's richest man about a possible donation to the party. The allegation has been made by the financier, Nat Rothschild. He says the conversation took place during the summer in Corfu, when the shadow chancellor, George Osborne, went on board a yacht owned by the billionaire, Oleg Deripaska. It is illegal for a political party to accept donations from overseas residents.

There has been a flurry of activity all day - Mr Osborne came out to defend his reputation, then Mr Rothschild said he was standing by his allegations and then the shadow chancellor issued a timeline detailing who said what and when. But what does this all mean and why does it matter? David Grossman is on the case and we'll get political reaction live.

Economy

Bank of England Governor Mervyn King will give his first public reading on the economic outlook since the emergency cut in interest rates earlier this month. Our Economics Editor, Paul Mason and Newsnight's Shadow MPC will assess the speech and discuss whether further interest rates cuts are needed.

US Elections

And we have the latest in our Editors series on the upcoming US election. Diplomatic Editor, Mark Urban sets out how foreign affairs would be changed by both presidential candidates.

Tonight's programme is presented by Jeremy Paxman.

As political parties scramble to offer solutions for a recession they didn't predict and blame each other for causing, they're all reaching for their copy of Keynes for inspiration on how to stimulate the economy. show government borrowing has risen sharply - but can we really spend our way out of a recession? We'll be asking the Conservative's spokesman for de-regulation, John Redwood, who joins us live.

Tonight we launch a new series of films ahead of the US presidential election. Newsnight's four specialist editors have all been to the US to contemplate the consequences of a new President for the worlds of science, diplomacy and politics.

First our Economics Editor Paul Mason kicks off the series with his take on how the collapse of the US economy might impact on the American Dream. You can watch Paul's film right now - - and leave your thoughts on his blog - here.

And down on the ground Peter Marshall asks if John McCain can still snatch victory when most of the polls and the pundits are saying he's done for.

That and more on Newsnight, 10.30pm ´óÏó´«Ã½ TWO

Here's Gavin with a look ahead to tonight's Newsnight:

Today's Quote for the Day:

"I would have waited for the banks to fail and then nationalised them for nothing."
Former Mayor of London Ken Livingstone, on how he would have dealt with the financial crisis.

In tonight's programme:

Split
First it was Madonna and Guy Ritchie, now the uncomfortable relationship that was burgeoning between the Conservative party and the government seems to be over. The temporary truce between the opposition and Labour over the credit crisis ended with David Cameron's speech to the City this morning. The Tory leader said Gordon Brown's strategy had "fundamentally failed". But what alternatives are the Conservatives putting forward? Michael Crick will be analysing Tory tactics.

Scotland
Scotland's World Cup qualifier with Norway may have been uncomfortable watching for the Hampden faithful but the Nordic nation is one the Scottish First Minister holds up as an example of a small country which can successfully manage its own economy. But, after last week's bailout of RBS and HBOS (S standing for Scotland in both cases), we'll be asking First Minister, Alex Salmond whether his proposals for Scottish independence are still viable.

Danube Blues
Hungary, on the other hand, could end up having to turn to international institutions to support its economy. In the latest of her reports from across Europe, Liz MacKean is on the banks of the Danube to explain its financial blues.

Join me at 10.30 and find out what Martha has in store on Newsnight Review here.

Gavin

Here's Martha with a look ahead to what's coming up in tonight's Newsnight Review:

This week I had that rather bizarre experience of being a journalist on the red carpet, waiting for the stars to arrive for a premiere. I dutifully put on an LBD and glittery jacket for recording the opening of tonight's programme, but the cold got the better of me and I put my parka coat on top which slightly dented any chances of a glamorous entrance.

The film was , based on Peter Morgan's terrific play about those iconic 1977 interviews. Before our review tonight you can see my about his screen persona (which is, in some ways, an unflattering portrayal).

My guests this week are (who better for our special programme about the London Film Festival), the journalist , and the playwright .

There's an interesting trend at the film festival towards biographical films reappraising characters from the 1960s and 1970s. So alongside Frost/Nixon we've chosen two other rather retro bio-pics to discuss from the festival line-up.

traces the lives of the group of German revolutionary students who ended up as notorious terrorists. There has been an ambivalent attitude towards the gang in Germany over the years - there was even a Prada Meinhof T shirt on sale recently - and this film has been accused of being an overly sympathetic portrayal.

Our next movie is , a biopic of the sixties record producer Joe Meek, known as the Phil Spector of the British music industry.

And then, away from the London Film Festival, we will be looking at the big general release of the week , the new Coen Brothers movie. A screwball comedy with a camp Brad Pitt, it couldn't be further away from their last film, No Country For Old Men, with that Manichean struggle between Tommy Lee Jones and Javier Bardem.

So all that should make for some lively discussion - do join me at 11pm, and let us know what you think about the programme by adding your comments here.

We'd also like to know what you think is driving the recent trend towards biographical films about controversial political figures, and political movements. As well as Frost/Nixon and The Baader Meinhof Complex, the London Film Festival is also screening Stephen Soderberg's Che, about the life of Che Guevara, and Steve McQueen's Hunger, about IRA hunger striker, Bobby Sands. Why do you think directors are attracted to projects like these?

Let us know what you think below.

Best wishes

Martha

Here's Gavin Esler with details of tonight's special programme from Washington DC.

The Presidential Debate - a Newsnight special programme

It is unseasonably warm and sticky here in the American capital as the pundits and pollsters dissect last night's final debate between McCain and Obama. In a special Newsnight live from Washington, we will have extended highlights of the debate.

We'll hear from both party camps and assess with the help of pundits and pollsters who won the debate and who might win the November 4 election. Guests include Secretary Tom Ridge, the National Co-Chair of John McCain's Campaign, Karen Finney, the Democrat Director of Communications, Tad Devine, who helped run John Kerry and Al Gore's doomed campaigns, and Terry Nelson, formerly Senator McCain's Campaign Manager.
Oh yes, and we'll also hear a bit more about Joe the Plumber. Or was it Bob the builder?
Yes, he can.

That's an extended Newsnight special live from DC at 10.30 tonight.
Gavin

Here's Emily Maitlis with details of what's coming up in tonight's programme:

"A banker is the kind of fellow who lends you an umbrella when it's sunny, and then begs the Government to buy it back from you when it rains..." (Anon)

Hailed as a superhero by European journalist yesterday, the Prime Minister is being called something much less flattering by bank shareholders today who are coming to terms with the idea that they'll not receive any dividends unless tax payers get their money back first. They're complaining that the US bailout was much less cruel to investors than the Brown Darling plan.

What does this mean for the Lloyds-TSB takeover of HBOS? Will the government back down or will the city get to have its cake and eat it? We'll be talking to the Chancellor Alistair Darling and his French counterpart Christine Lagarde (watch Jeremy's recent ).

Meanwhile it seems to be a given that we've got a fierce recession coming our way, but has the threat of fiscal apocalypse receded? Seasoned economic weather forecasters are now peering nervously towards something ominously called credit default swaps (which we lifted the lid on a couple of months ago - ). Some of our banks have trillions of pounds tied up in them.

How worried should we be? Apparently, when Lehman Brothers went to the wall, it was holding quite a few of these bad debt insurance notes, and this debt will now transmit itself throughout the lymph nodes of the banking and hedge fund system to the tune of a $365 billion dollar debt.

And if that isn't enough, the .

Liz MacKean will be continuing her tour of credit crunched Europe tonight. Today she's in the Republic of Ireland - the first country to announce it would comprehensively guarantee savers' bank accounts. Has its position within the Eurozone, she asks, allowed it to embark on colourful policies it might otherwise not have got away with?

And as if to remind us that no matter how bad things seem, it's never really that bad, Mark Doyle reports from a country where journalists seldom go - Somalia. His disturbing report on the lives of UN peace keepers in the dying city of Mogadishu puts all our troubles into perspective.

Join us at 10:30 on ´óÏó´«Ã½2."

Here's Jon Sopel with what's coming up tonight:

So, the one day you get to do Newsnight and sit in the big chair you want the news agenda to be fizzing. But as luck would have it the sun appears to be shining, storm clouds would appear to have scudded off in all directions, and all seems well with the world. What use is that?

But hang on. If it hadn't been for the utter turmoil and exceptional events of the past few days, today would be considered - in that hackneyed phrase - another grim day for the government. Inflation's gone up to over 5%. The housing market is going through the floor (you almost begin to feel the estate agents' pain...), retail sales are in the basement - the bargain basement, presumably.

So, if last night's programme was the trial on who was responsible for the mess, tonight we'll be looking at what sort of stretch we've all been sentenced to as the economy slows down.

Tomorrow, our superhero Gordon Brown (that's how European journalists dubbed him today after the UK recovery plan was adopted around the world) is off to the European Council. How much more needs to be done in terms of regulation? We'll be joined by Paul Rasmussen MEP, President of the Party of European socialists.

And our reporter Liz Mackean is starting a European sojourn to find out how other countries are dealing with the financial crisis. She's in Germany tonight.

There are 21 days to go before the US elections (in case it had escaped your notice). It's normal at this stage to say 'it's been one of the dirtiest campaigns ever'. But is the reality that it's been one of the cleanest? When you have the Bush administration partially nationalising the banks who needs to sling mud? There are enough real issues to attack each other on. But with John McCain trailing badly, is his best hope now to go negative? Peter Marshall is in Washington for us.

Do join us tonight at 10.30 on ´óÏó´«Ã½2.

Here's today's output editor, Shaminder Nahal, with a look ahead to tonight:

Hello everyone,

What would you like to do on the economic crisis?

Liz Mackean is in Germany looking at how it has been affected by the crisis as part of Newsnight's European Tour.

Peter Marshall is on the US election trail.

Kirsty is interviewing the winner of the Booker prize.

What else would you like to do?

Yours,

Shaminder

Credit Crunch: The Trial

Tonight a special Newsnight in which we examine the root causes of the mess we are in with representatives from the banks, so-called speculators, regulators and the government.

How far do we need to understand the causes of the financial crisis in order to get out of it and prevent it from happening again?

We will hear the case against those who are thought in some way to be behind the financial crisis, and our expert panel will interrogate each of the advocates.

Plus we will hear the results of a special Newsnight poll and we'll ask you to let us know who you blame for the crisis.

And you will be able to deliver your own verdict by voting on our website after the programme.

Gavin

There will be a special programme tonight on Newsnight asking who is to blame for the current financial crisis.

In the form of a trial presided over by Newsnight presenter Gavin Esler the programme will hear from a former bank boss, a hedge fund manager, a politician, and regulator - all senior in their fields - who will be giving evidence on the global financial turmoil and how it has come to pass.

The four will be cross examined by a panel of economic experts - Will Hutton, Chief Executive of the Work Foundation; American economist Irwin Stelzer; and FT journalist Gillian Tett.

So who do you think is to blame? You can share your thoughts with us on the website and cast your vote after the programme.

Here's today's output editor, Robert:

Good morning everyone,

What an extraordinary day. The Treasury has announced it is putting £37 billion into the Royal Bank of Scotland, Lloyds TSB and HBOS, in return for shares.

More than half the money will be used to shore up RBS, whose chief executive, Sir Fred Goodwin, is resigning.

The government has insisted that no cash bonuses are paid to senior directors of the three banks this year.

Do come to the meeting armed with ideas on how we are going to do this story. We're bidding for Darling on these events.

This will form part of a special entitled Credit Crunch: The Trial, asking who is to blame for the current financial crisis.

The programme will hear from a former bank boss, a hedge fund manager, politician and regulator - all senior in their fields - who will be giving evidence on the global financial turmoil and how it has come to pass.

We will also feature the results of a ComRes poll asking people who they think is to blame for the current crisis.

Robert

Here's Emily Maitlis and John Wilson with more details of tonight's Newsnight and Newsnight Review:

From Emily:

'The singular feature of the great crash of '29 was that the worst continued to worsen.'
J.K. Galbraith

Yes, we know things look pretty awful today, but tonight - as we bring you the day's events on NEWSNIGHT - we're going BIG with the Newsnight Editors' take on the global economic crisis. This evening we're asking how much has fundamentally been changed in our lives by everything that's happened over the past weeks.

Our Economics Editor will be analysing whether we're on the brink of a system-wide meltdown of the world economy. And, for once, the answer could actually be yes.

Our Political Editor will be analysing why the words - and indeed many of the policies - of the political class now seem remote and out of date.

And our Diplomatic Editor will be looking at the geo-political aftershocks that are likely to arise as a result of what we're seeing this autumn. His defence contacts now tell him 'all options are on the table'.

The Black Swan
Here in the studio I'll be talking to Nassim Nicholas Taleb, author of The Black Swan. He made money in the 1987 stock market crash, and eventually walked away from Wall Street and hedge funds and turned into an aggressively no-nonsense philosopher. The predictions he makes in his 2006 book are actually coming true right now. And his theory? Throw away the market models. The really big stuff - whether it's war, weather, terrorism or economic crisis - is impossible to predict. I'll let him explain it better. His world view is pretty extraordinary. As one critic wrote of him:
"Had Nassim Taleb been born in any other period, he would have certainly been put to death."

He'll be joined by Harvard economist, Kenneth Rogoff, and global economic expert, Linda Yueh.

We'll have all the latest on the day's developments too, but tonight the programme hopes to ask whether things will ever, truly, get back to normal.

I do hope you join us. You may need a glass in your hand.

Emily

From John:

SAATCHI GALLERY
Germaine Greer, John Harris and Paul Morley joined me for a team outing to Chelsea yesterday. King's Road used to be the stomping ground of beatniks and punk rockers, but these days the pavements are filled with WAGs and shoppers in search of the latest to-die-for names. And the hottest brand on the block? Saatchi! The ad-man turned art-collector, Charles Saatchi, has spent millions converting a former Georgian army barracks into his new gallery. After flogging off most of his collection of Brit Art - including Damien Hirst's shark - he's been buying abroad and young Chinese artists (YCAs, anyone?) are the latest to benefit from his patronage. But are they any good?

NO MAN'S LAND
We've also been to the theatre to see David Walliams swap Little Britain for Harold Pinter's No Man's Land. Walliams plays Foster, a besuited minder to Michael Gambon's booze-soaked writer Hirst. David Bradley is Spooner, who - invited for a drink or ten at Hirst's large house - engages in a game of wits with his host. Bleak, menacing and very, very funny, No Man's Land is classic Pinter. The writer himself applauded the performance on opening night - will the Review team share his enthusiasm?

GOMORRAH
Gomorrah is a new Italian-language film about the Neapolitan mafia, which controls everything from toxic waste dumping to haute couture tailoring in the Campania region. It's a dense film, shot like a documentary, but has already scooped a prize at Cannes and is nominated as Italy's entry for the foreign language Oscar.

OASIS
Oasis are back with their seventh studio album, Dig Out Your Soul. Noel Gallagher has promised a more experimental record, one less reliant on the old verse-chorus-bridge formula. But has he finally shaken off his Beatles obsession? Of course not!

We've got John, Paul, Germaine and Ringo on the show (ok, not Ringo) - find out if they're mad for it, as Liam Gallagher would say.

Join us at 11,

John

Here are the plans for Newsnight Review tonight:

John Wilson is presenting and will be joined by Paul Morley, Germaine Greer and John Harris.

The items up for discussion are:

PLAY:
NO MAN'S LAND Harold Pinter's classic play is revived in London with David Walliams and Michael Gambon in the cast following a hit run in Dublin.

FILM:
GOMORRAH Winner of one of the top prizes at Cannes this year, this Italian film is about the mafia centred around Naples. The journalist on whose book the film is based now has constant police protection after receiving death threats.

ART:
SAATCHI GALLERY The third reincarnation of Charles Saatchi's space - this time 70,000 sq ft in a converted Georgian former barracks in Chelsea. The opening exhibition features Chinese art. The Review team went along yesterday and we filmed their review in the gallery - which has free admission, and apparently clocked up 5000 visitors on opening day!

MUSIC:
OASIS - DIG OUT YOUR SOUL The band who provided the sound track to the Brit Art generation once collected by Charles Saatchi are back with a new album. Do they still have what it takes?

That's all on Newsnight Review straight after Newsnight at 11pm.

Here's today's output editor, Shaminder:

Hello everyone,

What would you like to do today?

Please come with your thoughts on what you'd like to see on the programme as the world comes crashing down around us.

See you in a minute,

Yours

Shaminder

Here with more news of tonight's programme is Kirsty

Hello to viewers global and local.

The world is turning on its head, and the fallout is far from over. Locally - council after council are revealing that they have investments in Icelandic banks - totalling hundreds of millions of pounds - and it is not clear if the Government bail out extends to them.

Globally - what will be the new financial order that will emerge from the ashes? World finance ministers are heading to Washington for the G7 and IMF meetings. Will Bretton Woods be replaced by a twenty first century version - a "Phoenix " accord? We'll be speaking to James Purnell the minister for Work and Pensions about the impact of all this on jobs, services and pensions.

The government's decision to take a stake in our major banks to restore confidence and reboot interbank lending certainly has not achieved the latter yet. Why not? Will the US have to adopt the same strategy before interbank lending trades at a reasonable rate of interest and is thus restored? At the moment we are in the midst of casting a senior panel of bankers from around the globe to discuss all this.

Carbon capture and storage is one of the mechanisms by which climate change can be kept at bay, but our Science Editor Susan Watts reveals a radical new plan designed to stop climate change. It involves sucking carbon dioxide out of the atmosphere with the help of artificial trees or algae - it's a Tomorrows World moment, don't miss it !

Kirsty

Here's today's output editor, Dan Kelly, with a look ahead to tonight's programme:

Good morning.

What is the new global financial order that can emerge from the ashes? As world finance ministers head to Washington for the G7 and IMF meetings, do we need a new Bretton Woods - a truly global response to the crisis - if so what should it be?

Peter Marshall is in Washington. Which guests should we have on?

In the UK, we should be able to better assess the impact of yesterday's extraordinary bailout plan (interbank lending rates come out at 11.30am), but if confidence is shot through, how much effect can it have in the coming weeks?

Plus, Susan Watts reports on a radical new approach designed to stop climate change. It involves sucking Carbon Dioxide out of the atmosphere with the help of artificial trees or algae. Confused? Find out more in the meeting....

Other ideas, angles on the financial crisis all welcome, and lots of guest ideas, please.

Thanks

Dan

Here's a look ahead to tonight's programme:

In a specially extended edition of Newsnight tonight we're live on both sides of the Atlantic.

In London Emily will be picking over the rubble of the British banking sector, while Kirsty is in Washington with the first of our specials in the run up to the Presidential election.

We started today with an announcement from Number 11 of the biggest bank rescue package in our history. At lunchtime the Bank of England fired off a surprise 0.5% slashing of interest rates. Almost unremarked amid the noise, another Icelandic bank fell over. As we write, Emily is talking to the Chancellor, Alistair Darling, to see if any of this firefighting can save the real economy from going up in smoke too.

Our economics editor, Paul Mason, is in the City. He'll be taking apart the detail of the deal to see if and how it will work. David Grossman is in Westminster and asks if the political consensus will hold.

From Kirsty Wark in Washington:

The second part of the programme comes from Washington tonight after the second Presidential debate.

We want to bring you a real flavour of the argument and so we'll begin with half an hour of edited highlights of last night's encounter. McCain had the most to do - the latest Gallup national poll has McCain trailing by 9%, and, more importantly, behind by the same margin in the key swing states.

The financial crisis (and fears over mortgages jobs and pensions - it's just been announced that 2 trillion dollars has been wiped off US retirement plans in the past fifteen months) dominated the debate. McCain announced what he said was his own plan - $300 billion to buy bad mortgages - though the US Treasury already has that power, and Obama said there would be tax cuts for 95% of Americans.

The two men circled each other, moving forward off their stools, smiling (or perhaps that was smirking) when one attacked the other's record on everything from their role in Fannie Mae, to cronyism, to Iraq - each trying to bend the very restrictive rules of engagement administered by the host Tom Brokaw .

Listening to the US networks this morning there were several accusations that John McCain had been snide, referring to Obama at one point as 'that one'. Obama was tested again on his experience on foreign policy. After the debate Barack and Michelle Obama, John and Cindy McCain laughed and chatted with the audience but Obama left last!

We'll be debating the high points and the low blows with Jamal Simmons, the Democrat strategist, Trent Duffy, Bush's former White House spokesman, Richard Schiff - famous in the parallel universe of the West Wing - and a Democrat campaigner, and, hopefully, Republican blogger Mary Katharine Ham.

I hope you'll be watching.

Kirsty

Here's today's output editor with a look ahead to tonight's programme:

Hello

There seem to be two big stories that we should be covering tonight.

Following the government's announcement of the £50bn rescue package for the banking system we'll be looking at the economics and the politics of the bailout.

And then we'll be live from Washington with the latest in the run up to the US election.

Let's discuss these in the meeting.

Yours,

Robert

Here's Emily Maitlis with more details of what's coming up in tonight's programme:

Get a grip, Darling

Bank shares have been in freefall - RBS down 40% at one stage - and tonight, in the midst of plunging market frenzy, the wrath of bankers has turned on the government. Senior bosses have criticized the Chancellor for refusing to act decisively and some have hit out at what they believe to be government leaks of a 50 billion pound rescue plan under discussion last night. Yesterday we were told that all options are on the table - is this responsible caution? Or dithering? Are events simply moving too quickly for any authority to keep up? Our economics editor, Paul Mason, has been gauging reaction in the city and we'll be discussing the next moves here in the studio with Kenneth Clarke, Vince Cable and Geoffrey Robinson.

US Election

A critical moment in the US presidential campaign as Obama and McCain come face to face in a televised debate. But behind the candidates and the cameras what's really going on on the ground? How is this war being fought by their footsoldiers? Peter Marshall has been in Ohio - a key swing state - and we'll be live in Washington tonight. Also, from investigative reporter Greg Palast, a film about how both Democrats and Republicans are accusing each other of election fraud.

Confidence

Do we have the faith to get us through this financial crisis or will we be masters of our own demise through lack of confidence? Tonight, we ask how you get confidence back when things have gone this badly wrong. We gauge the opinion of those who deal with the markets every day as well as philosophers, authors and even men of the cloth. When a single word can make markets tumble what collective powers do we have through our actions to pick them up again?

Do join us for all this and more at 10.30pm on ´óÏó´«Ã½2

Emily

Here is today's output editor, Shaminder Nahal, with a look ahead to tonight's programme:

Hello everyone,

What shall we do today?

What aspect of the economic crisis should we be looking at?

What else?

We have a film about election fraud in the States.

See you in a minute.

Yours,

Shaminder

Here's Kirsty with the latest on tonight's programme

Another Manic Monday...

As I write, markets are crashing around the world - the FTSE is down by more than 7 per cent - the biggest percentage fall in more than 20 years.

The reasons for today's crash seem to be the state of European banks and the incredibly chaotic response of EU leaders.

It is the first time that the European system has been tested since monetary union, and the results so far have been pretty wretched. So what can European leaders do now?

In the UK Alastair Darling has said that the Government will do whatever is necessary to stabilise the financial system, but what is the rescue plan being devised behind the scenes in Downing Street and the Treasury? Is a partial nationalisation of the whole banking sector in the offing? Our Economics Editor, Paul Mason, has the story.

Also tonight, it is not only the response to the financial crisis that is dividing Europe's leaders, the major European states all seem to have conflicting policies on energy and climate change - another fine mess? Mark Mardell has travelled to Spain, Italy and France to find out.

Also, after Newsnight Review's trip to Liverpool on Friday night, click for a look at Newsnight Review's website for "Review Uncut" - an after hours debate about the impact of European Capital of Culture status on the city.

It was recorded after Friday's show especially for the website - and features singer Holly Johnson, film director Terence Davies, actor Ian Hart and poet Roger McGough talking about their hometown.

Tonight at 10.30pm.

Kirsty

Here are the prospects for tonight's programme from today's output editor Dan Kelly.

Hello,

As I write, markets are crashing all over the world. The banking crisis will dominate tonight's show, and one piece will focus entirely on the disarray across Europe - both political and economic.

Please come with ideas for guests and coverage. We also need to watch reaction at Westminster to the financial crisis and Friday's reshuffle.

Mark Doyle has spent 24 hours with peacekeepers in Mogadishu in Somalia, one of the most dangerous places on earth; his film is a fascinating watch.

Dan.

Here's Gavin with the latest on tonight's programme

Quote for the Day:

"The whole Labour movement will be utterly perplexed at what the Prime Minister's motives are. This is an extraordinary step backwards into the worst elements of the Blair era, to reinstate possibly the most divisive figure in Labour's recent history"

Labour MP John McDonnell on the return of Peter Mandelson to the Government.

Well, there you are. Not everyone is pleased that Peter Mandelson is back in theCabinet, but Gordon Brown repeated that we need "serious people" to take "serious decisions" in these "serious times." And he wasn't joking. We'll debate the reshuffle - we're promised a Cabinet minister to give us the government view - and we'll have the latest on the vote in Congress on the bail out of the big banks.

Gavin

Here are the prospects for tonight's programme from today's output editor Robert Morgan.

Good morning everyone,

What an extraordinary start to the day. Peter Mandelson is back in the Cabinet. There's also the big House of Representatives bailout vote expected late this afternoon. Peter and Ben will be covering it for us in Washington.

Robert

Here are more details of what's coming up in tonight's programme which Gavin Esler is presenting:

Hello

In tonight's programme:

The resignation of Sir Ian Blair at the Met. He said he didn't have the backing of the Mayor of London Boris Johnson and so he had to go. We'll have the latest.
What impact is the credit crunch and the political indecision in the United States having on the real economy? Our economics editor Paul Mason will be here and we'll be reporting from Main Street UK.
From Washington - we'll be looking ahead to the much-anticipated TV debate between the vice-presidential candidates in the US election, Sarah Palin and Joe Biden.
And finally a joke doing the rounds of the City this afternoon:
"What is the difference between a pigeon and a merchant banker?"
"A pigeon can still put a deposit on a Ferrari."
Newsnight is at 10/30pm on ´óÏó´«Ã½2. Gavin

Newsnight Review is in Liverpool this week. It has been the European Capital of Culture for nine months now. We want to know whether you think honours like this have a lasting impact on a city, its people and the wider region, or do the benefits disappear when the year is over? We want to know whether people in Glasgow think their Capital of Culture year benefitted the place in the long term, and whether people in Manchester think the Commonwealth Games did the same.

If you're from Liverpool or you've been to the Capital of Culture this year, what has been your highlight so far? The robotic spider creeping through the city streets? The first Corbusier exhibition in over 20 years in the crypt at Liverpool Metropolitan Cathedral? McCartney's summer concert at Anfield or the art work on display as part of the Liverpool Biennial? Or has nothing on the programme appealed to you, and if not, why not?

Watch an extended version of Friday's discussion with Holly Johnson, Ian Hart, Terence Davies, Miranda Sawyer and Roger McGough below.

Here is today's output editor, Shaminder Nahal, with news of tonight's programme:

Lots of opportunity today.

What shall we do on the economy? More questions on the Irish banking guarantee. Various indicators of economic gloom.

Congress starts debating the US bailout. Vote tomorrow. Do you want more on this?

Palin and Biden debate late tonight. Do you want to see a preview?

We have an interview with Gore Vidal. What do you want to ask him?

Reshuffle? Will there be news?

What else?

Tell us what you would want to watch.

Yours,

Shaminder

Here are more details of what's coming up in tonight's programme which Jeremy Paxman is presenting:

Banking crisis

"It is clear that this is what we must do right now to prevent a crisis from turning into a catastrophe" said Barack Obama. Tonight Senators Obama and McCain vote on the $700 billion Wall Street package that their compatriots in the House of Representatives have already given the thumbs down. We'll have the latest news on the backstage wheeler-dealing which could decide the fate of the global economy.

France today also stepped in with their own proposals to stem the crisis - a reported 300 billion euro rescue package for European banks.

We'll be speaking to the French chief finance minister Christine Lagarde live on the programme tonight.

Conservative conference

At the Conservative Party conference David Cameron asserted he's "a man with a plan" to rebuild Britain's battered economy and repair its "broken society". Winding up his party's conference, he also shrugged off jibes that he was a novice saying "more of the same" wasn't the answer. David Grossman asks if the strategy worked.

Exclusive Interview

Ryan Crocker, the US ambassador to Iraq is also worried about the US financial crisis. In an exclusive interview with Jeremy tonight, he tells us that the war in Iraq isn't some Hollywood movie - we can't just switch it off when we run out of money to pay for it.

And we have the results of our Place that Face competition.

How did you rank our 12 post-war prime ministers in order of greatness?

All will be revealed tonight at 10.30pm on ´óÏó´«Ã½2.

Here is today's output editor, Dan Kelly, with news of tonight's programme:

Good morning,

Very busy today. The revised bailout plan goes to the Senate tonight, Cameron is speaking to the Tory conference, we have an interview with the US Ambassador to Baghdad, and the final results of "Place That Face."

What are your thoughts and suggestions about all of these?

See you in the meeting.

Dan